Looking for handicrafts? Tips on identifying and buying an authentic piece

Always buy from a reputable outlet, not from trinket shops outside tourist spots or on mall roads; remember that the beauty in a genuine piece lies in its flaws, unlike a machine-made copy

Recently craft crusaders called out fashion designer Sabyasachi for digitising Sanganer block prints. The headlines were screaming: “What Sabya owes Sanganer”. Patrons of handicrafts felt he was too focussed on promoting himself and his special collection for an international brand and nearly hijacked the story of India’s rich heritage, and the art form and livelihood of the artisans and karigars. Says Dilli Haat founder Jaya Jaitly, who leads a handicraft initiative called Dastkari Haat Samiti: “My noise with Sabyasachi was on why he took the karigaar’s work and digitised it. Collaboration is one thing but digitising it is to use technology to take it completely out of the hands of the karigar. China has been doing just that with the Benarasi and the Bandhini.”

What is handicraft?

Simply put, handicraft is any object that is crafted by skilled hands. These unique items represent the culture, heritage, aesthetics and tradition of the regions to which they belong. Numerous traditional techniques such as painting, hand dyeing, handloom weaving, and woodblock are applied while creating them.

The market size for handicrafts and handlooms in India was about $3.40 billion in FY2021, according to TechSci Research. Some of the important categories are woodware, embroidered crocheted goods, hand-printed textiles and scarves, imitation jewellery, and art metal wares. Handicraft includes anything that is hand-crafted or made by using hands, with minimum use of any mechanical tool, and includes handloom products such as pochampally ikkat, patan patola sarees or kullu shawls.

Why handicraft?

There is beauty in hand-crafted items. Noted Indian designer and scenographer Padma Bhushan Rajeev Sethi says, “In traditional Indian pedagogy, the hand is the supreme instrument. India is still the most hand-skilled nation in a world of rapidly de-skilling communities. Haath bana Hastinapur, ungli paanch Pandava. There is a direct connection of formation of the hand and the brain. Almost all the points (on the hand) are pavilions that connect with the brain."

He adds that the aesthetics of the weaver in India are amazing and we are lucky to have these handwoven garments. Every person who makes Madhubani, imbues it with a certain character, a special something, a part of his soul, a personal signature, a little extra from his end into his work. Just like a raag in music. The structure may be the same but every singer has his own style. That is the benefit and speciality of human art--building your own and sharing it with the world.

Why handicraft is expensive

Did you know a Kani Jamawar Kashmiri handwoven shawl can take up to three years to make? And that a phulkari dupatta takes minimum 30-60 days to embroider? Says Kirandeep Kaur, founder of Punjabi concept store 1469: “Depending on the time devoted by the artisan and intricacy of the design, it takes more than a month to make a dupatta. As women spare time from their day-to-day activities to make the dupattas for us, we don’t insist on rapid production. The historical essence of embroidering with love and blessings will be maintained only when they are given time and patience to create these treasures. On the other hand, machine-made dupattas are churned out in factories by operators- sometimes they may not be even made in Punjab nor made as a handicraft. But people who understand the technique and sweat involved in handwork value it and are willing to pay without bargaining.” Often, a layman cannot differentiate between hand- and machine-made. One has to check the back of the dupatta to check the stitch. The handmade dupatta is much lighter, while the machine-made one is usually done on a mixed fabric like polyester, which can withstand a number of thread combinations on it. Handmade phulkari bagh is expensive at Rs 6,500-9,000, while a machine-made version comes for Rs 2,500-4,000.

Bestselling products

At Delhi’s cottage emporium, the bestselling products are the art pieces and idols made of metals and alloys. The ones in silver are the most expensive, while brass and copper are the most popular. The pieces are often created by national and state awardees, and Kabir awardees. Foreigners form a substantial part of the customers base and, like their domestic counterparts, are partial to Buddha idols.

In the wood category, sandalwood finds favour with the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. Vriksh certification is issued to authenticate that the wood is genuine and legal. Tea hampers are also lapped up by foreigners.

What about domestic buyers? Mahendra V S Negi, Managing Director, Central Cottage Industries Corporation of India Ltd, shares his experience: “I would say the lower middle class wants Chinese stuff, which is the cheapest. This segment is thrifty, spends most on education, or roti-kapda-makaan. It’s the aspirational middle class that really loves handicrafts. If buyers in this space can’t get their hands on an authentic piece, they will make do with a replica. If you can’t have an authentic benarasi saree for Rs 80,000 then pick up a look-alike for Rs 8,000. But for the rich and the upper class, genuine handicrafts are again statement pieces.”

Craft crusaders advocate the use of handicraft for daily use and not just for decoration. "I would wish it went beyond decoration," says Jaya Jaitly. She says handicraft was basically and essentially utilitarian and not luxury–that is not what Indian culture is all about. Take the case of brass vessels or terracotta. The whole of Kerala used to cook rice in terracotta vessels. Nagaland cooks in wooden kitchen utensils, ladles and spoons, which are all eco-friendly, employment friendly and utilitarian. Even the idols we keep at homes are for daily prayer, and aren't ornamental. Nonetheless, the interest in handicrafts has grown substantially. Youth are keenly interested in India’s craft stories. No wonder, just before the pandemic, Dilli Haat clocked sales worth Rs 6.5 crore in two weeks.

How to choose

Some of the best places to buy handicraft products are the State emporiums, Cottage Emporium, Dilli Haat and Craft Museum. A good practice is to buy from organisations that follow fair trade norms. The government has taken measures to help distinguish genuine products from spurious ones. Tags certifying authenticity have been assigned, based on the sector. Handloom mark, Woolmark, Silkmark, Seal of Cotton and Craftmark correspond to the handloom, wool, silk, cotton and handicraft sectors respectively. It is up to the customer to inspect a product closely to determine its origin.

There are aesthetic differences too. If you look carefully, you’ll notice that handloom weaves, though meticulous, are not always even. The beauty of handicraft lies in its unevenness. Only machines can be perfect.

When you travel, try not to buy from touristy places-those small shops outside forts, palaces, temples, and on the Mall road at hill stations. Cottage Emporium’s Mahendra Negi advises, “If you are traveling and have time, try and get to the actual maker –not those retail points where the tour operator will take you. I would even say that in today’s globalised world you may not even need to travel and will still be able to get the most authentic stuff sitting at home. Aggregators and artisans have their own websites and even have a return policy. Don’t be compelled to buy that simply because 'I have come to Nagaland, I must buy a Naga shawl'. You may get a better deal sitting in your home.”

Also go for places where the difference between original, hybrid and replica is “declared’. Negi says at his Cottage Emporium, the best wool carpets come from Bhadohi, and durries from Mirzapur. The most expensive ones are handmade and have pure wool or silk on silk; then comes the medium range which has wool plus viscose and the machine-made ones with synthetic material. But there are many shops in which this goes undeclared. Go for transparency, certifications and credible stores for handicraft.

Table: Indicative price list and origin of various types of handicrafts

Category	Description	State of origin	Price range (Rs)
Metal Craft

Bronze Tamil Nadu 14,784-1,42,923 Brass Uttar Pradesh 122-2,67,132 Papier Mache Papier Mache Handicrafts Kashmir 31.80-1,18,388

Pottery

Blue Pottery Rajasthan 54-4,880

Khurja Pottery

Uttar Pradesh 294-3,039 Studio Art Pottery Uttar Pradesh 186-730 Semi-Precious & Soft Stone Pottery Odisha 5,387-3,11,750

Silver Craft

Filigree Craft Odisha 7,987-1,65,870 Silver Enamel Rajasthan 2,187-6,275

Wood Craft

Kadam Wood Craft Rajasthan 162-94,875 Painted Wood Craft Rajasthan 77-63,568 Sandalwood Craft Andhra Pradesh & Rajasthan 516-1,280,335 Sheesham Wood Inlay Work Delhi and Rajasthan 296-9,34,973

Toys

Saharanpur Wooden Toys Uttar Pradesh 385-3,226 Lucknow Mud Dolls Uttar Pradesh 365-560 Glass Toys Rajasthan 108-264 Chennapatnam Toys Karnataka 90-398 Varanasi Lacquerware Toys Uttar Pradesh 230-862 Lac Toys Rajasthan 28-142 Musical Toys Delhi 80-425

Education Toys

Delhi 40-2,719 Stuff Toys Rajasthan 78-3,452

Tea

Green Tea West Bengal 161-495 Masala Tea Assam 222-459 White Tea West Bengal 749-1,149 Kahwa Tea Kashmir 319

Furnishings

Paintings

Rajasthan 306-2,46,400 Table Linen Uttar Pradesh 141-39,573

Furniture

Sheesham Wood Rajasthan 8,653 Marble Rajasthan & UP 61,405-1,05,032 Teak Wood  Rajasthan 604-2,19,315

Carpets

Silk Carpet Kashmir 11,309-1,403,701 Woollen Carpet Uttar Pradesh 2,683-2,03,088 Zardozi Carpet Uttar Pradesh 5,756-2,62,685 Woollen Modern Carpet Uttar Pradesh 50,133-3,59,867 Sarees  Cotton Saree UP, West Bengal  632-1,58,614

Silk Handwoven Saree 

Telangana 

1,160-71,873 Ikat Saree  Andhra Pradesh  4,856-29,138 Bedspreads Cotton Bedspread Rajasthan 3,548-3,871

Shawls

Woollen Shawl Kashmir & Gujarat 2,149-15,837 Pashmina Shawls (Cashmere) Kashmir 3,302-2,36,891

Source: TechSci Research