The first thing that likely comes to mind when you think of paper mache is probably an arts and crafts project from elementary school rather than a piece of refined art. But for generations, professionals have been passing down the remarkable technique of Kashmiri paper mache from one generation to the next.

Home From India strives to recognise the artists and craftspeople who created the goods we sell in our shop. Another lovely method to decorate your home and furnish it with items that will delight guests and generate conversation is with Kashmiri paper mache.

In the fourteenth century, the Persian mystic Mir Syed Ali Hamdani brought paper mache to India. He brought along expert craftspeople when he travelled to the Kashmir region from Persia. The Persian technique for creating paper mache combined with related Central Asian art styles to create a distinctive branch of the paper mache art. As time went on, Kashmiri artists added their own flourishes to the genre, attracting admirers from all over the world to their works.

Sakhtsazi and Naqashi are two of the most significant features of Kashmiri paper mache. The paper pulp is used to create the base of the paper mache figurine or object in the first step, Sakhtsazi, and is painted and decorated in the last step, Naqashi.