The wood carvings of Tamil Nadu: an iconographical survey

Abstract

The value of wood as a medium for making implements for secular and religious purposes has been known to mankind since the dawn of civilization. Some examples have survived till contemporary times. The fact that wood is available in abundant quantity, easily procurable and also eminently easy to fashion into the required shape must have been responsible for maximum use being made of it. The sruk and sruva, wooden spoons used by Vedic ritualists, continue to be of the same material and shape today. So also scholars are of the opinion that the earliest iconic presentations and temple edifices were made of wood. In view of the indispensable nature of wood as a medium of art, śilpaśāstras and āgamas embody elaborate information concerning the types of wood fit for art production and the methods for procuring them. It is well-known that art in wood is a legacy of very ancient traditions. The present paper makes an attempt to trace succinctly the art heritage of Tamilnadu in wood with special reference to temple cars, tēr in Tamil and ratha in Sanskrit, and to evaluate the scope for research in iconography.

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