Orissa Handicrafts
Orissa Horn
Mystical and awe-inspiring, richly textured and finely fashioned from the horns
of animals, they are a class apart.
The distinctive features are the delicateness of design and boldness of form.
The craftsmen of Parlakhemundi and Cuttack, skillfully fashion horns into birds
arrested in flight, animals of prey caught prowling, fighting bulls, fish -
guzzling cranes, deer nuzzling young, elephant rolling logs combs, penstands,
pipes prawns, dainty lamp - stands etc. choose from a wide range of scintillating
objects.
Available in the widest spectrum with new designs of stylized forms.
The craft, in Parlakhemundi is rather young. The local rajas gave a fillip to
this craft in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
The horns, that are mostly from buffaloes and cows require a high degree of
skill and imagination in application. The artisans who excel in this art have
used the specific texture of this material t mould all sorts of objects with
a marvelous degree of fluidity in movement.
