Craft and craft people in Medieval Period


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Craft and craft people in Medieval Period

Craft and Craft People During Medevial Period:  Craftsmen  were trained people who made luxury goods for the king , nobles and wealthy people . They also produced goods on a large scale for the locals and for exports , They made goods to different kinds. The Mughal emperors established Karkhanas in which craftsmen practising different crafts  worked and produced goods for the royal family. Craftsmen in villages and towns made various goods which were sold in the local markets.

The towns were flooded with small and big traders . the small traders had a limited area where they could trade their goods whereas the big ones had to fleet of ships which could take their goods to far away places too. Indian spices like Cinnamon , pepper and nutmeg were sold to European countries and the traders made huge profits.

For inland trade, the traders travelled in caravans and formed guilds to protect their interests .Banjaras were also traders who travelled to different places buying and selling goods on their way.

The Delhi sultanate period saw the slow but steady growth of crafts like the spinning, weaving and printing of fine textiles, gem- cutting, and metallurgy and high- quality pottery. Many variety of ornamental work in cut stones. Pearl and tortoiseshell were produced in south India. Finishing for pearls was a major industry centers for cutting and polishing precious ornaments like diamonds, sapphires and rubies were established at Pulicat, Calicut and Vijayanagara. India was famous for its textiles, which formed one of the chief items of exports. Patola, which is a kind of silk colored with natural dyes, was popular in south- East Asia. In the east Bengal was famous for its wide variety of textiles. Ibn Batuta saw many cotton trade centers during his stay in Bengal. Silk were also manufactured there.  Golkonda was famous for its kalamkari products. These were finely painted cotton fabrics with motifs from Hindu mythology. They were exported through the port city of Masulipatnam.

Palampore, which were another variety of painted fabrics, were popular in the Mughal and Deccan courts. The borders of these pieces were block printed while the centre depicted the ‘tree of life’ motif made by hand.

 
 
 


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