15 January 2016
An ancient term that translates as the 'science of arts and crafts,' Shilpa Shastra covers a wide range of decorative and sculptural disciplines such as painting, stone carving, carpentry, jewel making and pottery. The old Hindu texts of Shilpa Shastra address various design rules and principles such as proportion, composition and meaning, especially when it comes to the creation of deiti...
08 January 2016
Most often minkisi are wooden carvings of anthropomorphic or zoomorphic figures, but they can also be shells, gourds, horns and clay pots used for the same purpose. To create minkisi, the nganga first commissions a figure from the village carver or carves the figure himself. These “naked” figures usually include a hollowed head or stomach, considered to be spiritual focal point...