Usta art

China Product






Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008) kung fu uniforms

The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject. Please help improve the article with a good introductory style. (February 2008) kung fu uniform

Usta art is a generic term used for the media of Naqqashi and Manoti art practiced by Usta artisans from the erstwhile Bikaner State in present-day Rajasthan, India. Naqqashi and Manoti is characterised by painting miniature translucent and opaque watercolour and oil based floral patterns on objects, camel leather, and architectural elements with gold. Naqqashi are items that are unembossed gold layers and Manoti are items that are embossed gold layers. The art of Naqqashi and Manoti flourished between the late-16th to mid-19th century in the Bikaner State. By the mid-20th Century Hisam-ud-din Usta was the only artisan remaining who understood the secrets to this proprietary Usta art. Hisam-ud-din Usta trained one member of his immediate family in the art of Naqqashi and Manoti, his grandson Jamil Usta, and a few other members of the Bikaner Usta community. Jamil Usta and a few other members of the Usta family presently still produce Naqqashi and Manoti art objects in Bikaner city. karate supplies

Usta is a professional caste of artists, and the word Usta derives from the Persian word of Ustad, meaning master or skilled person.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF USTA ART

USTA family artisans were brought to Bikaner in the late-16th Century by Maharaja Rai Singh ji to decorate the interiors of the new fort of Junagarh. The Usta artisans originated in Herat in Afghanistan and had migrated to the Multan region (present-day Pakistan) during the mid-16th Century. After completing the decoration of the new Junagarh fort the Usta family stayed in Bikaner. Shah Muhammed Usta from the Lalani clan established the Bikaner School of Art in the late-16th Century and his nephew, Nur Muhammed, became the first Bikaner School painter to paint paintings for the Bikaner Royal family. The Bikaner School produced paintings in opaque mineral and vegetable based watercolours on paper with a uniquely refined style that combined Rajput, Western India School, and Mughal styles. The famous masters of the Bikaner School in the 17th Century were Nur Muhammed, Nathu ji, Ali Raza, Rukn-ud-din, Qadir, Luft, Ahmed ji, Murad s/o Luft, Murad s/o Nathu ji, and Abrahim. In the 18th Century, Noor Muhammed, Rahim ji the 1st, Qasim, Umar ji, Hasan, Isa, Sahab-ud-din, Abu, Rahim ji the 2nd, Hashim, and Mahmood. In the early-19th Century Rahim ji the 2nd dominated the first four decades, Peero ji, "Chotu", and Murad Bakhsh who was the last famous Bikaner School painter.

WHAT IS USTA ART Usta is a professional caste of artists, and the word Usta deriving from the Persian word of Ustad, meaning master or skilled person. The art is a generic term used for the media of Naqqashi and Manoti art practiced by Usta artisans from the erstwhile Bikaner State in present-day Rajasthan, India. Naqqashi and Manoti is characterised by painting miniature translucent and opaque watercolour and oil based floral patterns on objects, camel leather, and architectural elements with gold. Naqqashi are items that are unembossed gold layers and Manoti are items that are embossed gold layers.

The major manifestations of Usta art in Bikaner may be seen in Phool Mahal, Chandra Palace, Anup Palace and Karan Palace, all sections of the Junagarh fort at Bikaner. Rampuria Havelis, the Mazaar of Amir Khushro, Nizamudin Oliya and Dargah Ajmer Sharif are other locations where the art of the Ustas may be seen.

Today in Bikaner city a few Usta family artisans still produce Naqqashi and Manoti artworks.

Recipients of NATIONAL AWARD for Naqqashi and Manoti objects

1. Hisamuddin Usta - 1967

2. Zahiruddin Usta - 1990

3. Muhammad Hanif Usta - 1991

Recipients of STATE AWARD

1. Zahiruddin Usta - 1984

2. Muhammad Asghar Usta - 1985

3. Muhammad Hanif Usta - 1988

4. Ajmal Hussain Usta - 1993

External links

Usta art

Categories: Rajasthani artsHidden categories: Articles needing additional references from February 2008 | All articles needing additional references | Wikipedia articles needing context from February 2008 | All Wikipedia articles needing context | Wikipedia introduction cleanup from February 2008