Traditional Arts & Crafts

Gujarat has a rich and colourful legacy of weaving and handicrafts. Its location on the western coast of India helped cultivate trade and commerce with people from across the Arabian Sea for centuries.

Traders, invaders, colonisers, migrants, and refugees all have landed here with riches, skills, and enterprise that have become an integral part of the state’s unique heritage.

Discover the sheer diversity, range, and wealth of Gujarat’s undying tradition of art and crafts as we unveil some of its hidden treasures. We have identified the key crafts in each area/region mentioned here.

Surat

• Sadeli: A form of marquetry design.
• Zari: Silver or gold thread embroidery.

Sankheda (Vadodara District)

• Colourful wooden furniture
• Lacquerware

Chhota Udaipur

• Pithora Painting: A highly ritualistic tribal art form done either to celebrate an auspicious occasion or call upon a revered tribal lord in times of trouble.
• The Dahod and Panchmahals districts in the area are also home to tribal communities famous for their pottery, terracotta, and jewellery.

Surendranagar (Saurashtra)

• Handloom weaving and textile embellishment
• Tangaliya: A rare and unique weave that employs adding extra knots on the weft, creating motifs and figures in a dotted pattern on the woven fabric.
• Bandhej or Bandhani: Tie-and-dye textile work.
• Metalwork
• Stone carving

Jasdan (Rajkot District)

• Brass-embellished wooden chests and boxes
• Gold jewellery
• Silverware
• Meenakari-style painted furniture
• Block printing
• Screen printing

Bhavnagar District

• Sihore’s metal utensils
• Embroidery
• Beadwork
• Bird hangings
• Botad’s pottery
• Palitana’s metal-embossed woodwork and stonework
• Mahua’s lacquer work

Jamnagar (Saurashtra)

• Bandhani: Tie-and-dye textile work
• Metal crafts
• Zari
• Jewellery

Dhamadka – Ajrakhpur (Kutch District)

• Ajrakh block printing: An intricate art of resist block printing fabrics that uses a resist, mordant, or both by applying handheld wooden blocks with designs in relief.

Bhujodi (Kutch District)

• Weaving: Traditionally wool weaving; today cottons, Merino wools, acrylics, and silks are also used.
• Rabari and Marwada embroidery
• Woodcarving
• Other handicrafts

Poshina (Sabarkantha District)

• Terracotta horses
• Silver jewellery
• Tribal adornments

Kutch

• Rogan painting/printing: Paint made from boiled oil and vegetable dyes is laid down on fabric using either a metal block for printing or a stylus for painting.
• Leather crafts
• Embroidery work

Kutch, Saurashtra, Banaskantha, Patan

• Appliqué and patchwork

Khambhat, Saurashtra, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Amreli, and Junagadh

• Beadwork

Patan

• Patola: A double ikat dyeing technique used to pattern textiles, traditionally applied to handwoven silk sarees.