Gujarāt Woodwork

Gujarāt woodwork, architectural carving executed in the state of Gujarāt in India. Gujarāt was the chief centre of wood carving in India from at least the 15th century. Even when stone as a building material was handled with great ease and confidence, the people of Gujarāt continued to use wood freely in the construction of temple pavilions and in the richly carved facades, balconies, doors, columns, brackets, and grilled windows of residential buildings.

Wood carving in Gujarāt in the Mughal period (1556–1707) shows a happy synthesis of the indigenous and Mughal styles. Jaina wooden pavilions of the late 16th and 17th centuries are richly sculptured with scenes from Jaina mythology and contemporary life and with imaginative floral, animal, and geometrical motifs; figural sculpture has a great vivacity and rhythm. Application of a rich red lacquer to the wood was common. Many sumptuous wooden facades of the 19th century have been preserved, but the ornamentation lacks the grace and movement of earlier work.