An ethnic artifact is a piece of art which is characteristically related to a group of people sharing a common religion, language, cultural heritage, and race. In other words, a particular race/ethnicity produces art which reflect their cultural heritage, and that is called as an ethnic artifact.
In contrast to fine art or contemporary modern art, it is pure and naïve in its style and traditional rules of Art making doesn’t apply here. Ethnic artifacts are made just to express a culture.
If you look at the style of ethnic artifacts, you will find that these are generally colorful, vibrant, made of materials naturally found like Wood, Stones, Cloth, Mud, Bamboo, Paper, Metal, Jute, Sea shells etc. This art brings both the creator and the user close to the nature. If traditional materials are inaccessible, new materials are often substituted, resulting in contemporary expressions of traditional art forms. Nowadays, this art form is getting popular with all levels of society and more and more people are getting attracted to the ethnic artifacts to bring calmness, closeness to nature, and colorfulness to their homes. This is a very old art form, which still looks super good in all kind of home settings if used correctly.
Indian Arts and Crafts:
Indian arts and crafts are famous all over the world for their unique designs and immaculate craftsmanship that they have procured from their ancestors.
Some examples are Carved figures, Traditional Portraits, Jewelry, Wooden artifacts, painted game boards, cast iron functional artifacts from Kutch, Blue pottery, block prints and Shekhawati paintings of Rajasthan, eccentric jewelry of Goa and the art of carpet weaving of Kashmir.
TIPS on Ethnic artifacts:
- Right Environment: You cannot just hang ethnic art anywhere, as it diminishes the effect and also can possibly not go with the room décor and will appear misplaced. You need the right environment.
- Home Décor: The way you have furnished your home as a whole should not clash with ethnic artifacts as they make very strong impact. Use ethnic artifacts when the rest of your décor is also earthy, and more traditional. In a more contemporary home, use more contemporary artifacts.
- Shell work from Goa in decorative lamps, mirrors and jewelry looks very versatile and very chic.
- Artistic lamps from Kerala are magnificent and will look great in your worship place at home. Buy some of these lamps like Aarti lamp, Aarchna lamp to provide a regal yet serene look to your home.
- Wooden Artifacts: Wood; particularly costly wood like sandal, sheesham, rosewood and kadamb are used for production of beautiful handicraft items depicting various symbols of Indian rich cultural heritage. E.g. carvings of elephant, peacock, photo frames, paper knives, key chains, book marks etc which can be used for decoration of homes and also as gifts to friends and relations.
- Metal Artifacts: Metals are always in, and metal artifacts look good and stimulate the environment in homes, & offices. They are also comparatively inexpensive. E.g. Gifts and utility products like bowl & bowl sets, wine coolers, photo frames, planters, vases and statues are most sought after pieces of ethnic artifacts.
- Marble Artifacts: These are very popular both here and abroad and widely used in home décor. Marble work with semiprecious stones looks very graceful. E.g. Statues, Table tops Plates, Vases, and Stools etc.
The beauty of Ethnic artifacts is that they bring you close to nature, your culture, and your society. They look beautiful and graceful, and when chosen wisely and placed correctly will draw all eyes on your home.
