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Garma
Garam
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Punjab
Arts and crafts The
crafts in the Punjab are of two types: the
crafts produced in the rural areas and the royal
crafts which flourished in the urban centers
particularly in Lahore. The former include
cotton textiles, basketry, embroidery etc. while
the latter are tile and woodwork skills, ivory,
silver and gold work, naqqashi and
architectural crafts. Hand
knotted carpets of fine quality are made in
Punjab since the Mughal period. Emperor Akbar in
the 15th century established the first factory
in Lahore. While carpets were made for the rich,
rough rugs (known as namdas) were made by
the common people for their own use. Lahore is
the center of hand-made carpets. Since
ancient times the weavers of the region have
produced colourful fabrics of silk and cotton.
The hand-woven cotton cloth like khaddar of
Kamalia, are popular. The cloth woven on
handlooms is either block printed or beautifully
embroidered. Multan is famous for beautiful
hand-woven bed covers. The
potter at his wheel is a common sight in every
village, uninfluenced by modern glamour.
Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi and Gujrat also produce
colourful pottery, painted after firing. The
blue glazed pottery of Multan dates back to the
13th century with obvious traces of Persian
influence. Chiniot,
Gujrat and Lahore are famous for woodwork.
Chiniot is known for woodcarving and furniture,
brass and iron inlay. Copper and brass work is
done within the walled city of Lahore since
ages. In
fine arts, the local Muslim traditions of Punjab
were greatly influenced by the works of Central
Asian and Persian artists of the early Mughal
period. Persian miniatures are the models of
some of the well-known artists like Abdur Rehman
Chaughtai, with a style of his own, and Haji
Muhammad Sharif. Among
the modern artists, Ustad Allah Bakhsh, Khalid
Iqbal, Ijazul Hasan and Shakir Ali stand on the
top. In calligraphy, a great heritage of Muslim
art, Agha Mirza Imam of Lahore gave new
dimensions to this art and was followed by
equally renowned Sufi Abdul Majid (Perveen
Raqqm) and Abdul Walid (Nadir Qalam)
who changed the round form of letters to elegant
ovals. In the Graphic Arts, representational paintings and landscapes continue to be produced side by side with more complex modern trends. The main art centers in the province are Al-Hamra, the National College of Arts, Fine Arts Department of the Punjab University and the Lahore Art Gallery, all located at Lahore.
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