Bengaluru Sandalwood & Handloom Craft
Fragrant sandalwood filigree and Karnataka's silks, gathered in one city.
Bengaluru and the surrounding districts of southern Karnataka bring together two prestige crafts. Sandalwood carvers, largely of the Gudigar community, cut deities, boxes, elephants, pierced screens and layered relief panels in the pale, close-grained, aromatic wood, exploiting its fine grain for deep undercutting and lattice work. Bengaluru is also a hub for the weaving, dyeing, throwing and trade of silk in the Mysore tradition — crepe and satin sarees, dress fabric and furnishing — and the state's craft institutions, silk marketing bodies and emporia are concentrated in the city.
Craft at a Glance
Origin
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Also Known As
Mysore sandalwood carving, Gudigars' work, Bangalore silk trade
Craft Type
Sandalwood carving and silk handloom
Practising Community
Gudigar carver families (originally from the Malnad and coastal Karnataka); Devanga and Padmasali silk weavers
Materials
Seasoned Indian sandalwood (Santalum album), with rosewood, kadamba and other woods as substitutes; hand chisels, gouges and fine drills; and, for the textiles, twisted mulberry silk yarn and zari.
Known For
Deeply undercut sandalwood carving and a hub for Mysore-tradition silks
Where It's Made
Bengaluru, Mysuru, Shivamogga and Sagar for carving; Bengaluru, Ramanagara and Doddaballapura for silk
Time to Create
Weeks to many months for fine sandalwood carving; days per silk saree
GI Status
Mysore Sandalwood Oil and Mysore Silk are registered GIs of Karnataka; the carving is not separately registered
Process Steps
Seasoning the wood
Sandalwood billets are dried slowly, sometimes for years, so the dense wood is stable and will not crack after carving.
Drawing the design
The composition — a deity, a hunting scene, a pierced panel — is drawn onto the seasoned block.
Roughing out
The main forms are cut with a saw and heavy chisels to establish the depth and the principal masses.
Detail carving
Fine chisels, gouges and drills cut the ornament, faces, drapery and the deep undercuts that give the work its relief.
Piercing the jaali
Lattice areas are drilled and cut right through the wood to make openwork screens.
Cleaning and light sanding
The finished carving is cleaned and lightly sanded only; no oil or varnish is applied, preserving the scent.
Weaving the silk (parallel craft)
For the textile side, twisted silk is reeled, degummed, dyed, warped and woven into crepe sarees and fabric on jacquard looms.
Technique Glossary
Jaali
A pierced lattice screen carved right through the wood, a showpiece of sandalwood skill.
Santalum album
Indian sandalwood, prized for its fragrance, fine grain and pale gold colour.
Gudigar
The hereditary community of sandalwood and ivory carvers of the Malnad and coastal Karnataka.
Undercutting
Carving away wood behind a form so it stands free of its background, giving deep relief and shadow.
Crepe silk
Silk woven from highly twisted yarn, giving a grainy texture and good drape; a Mysore-silk hallmark.
Sericulture
The rearing of silkworms and reeling of raw silk, the basis of Karnataka's silk industry.
Sandalwood oil
The fragrant essential oil distilled from sandalwood heartwood and roots, historically a Mysore state monopoly.
A Craft Through Time
Pre-modern
Temple and palace carving
Sandalwood images, doors and fittings are carved for Karnataka's temples and the Mysore court by Gudigar and other families.
18th century
Silk promotion
Tipu Sultan encourages sericulture, seeding what becomes a major regional industry.
19th–early 20th century
Princely-state industries
The Mysore state sets up silk farms, a sandalwood oil factory and craft schools, formalising both trades.
20th century
Institutional hub
Bengaluru becomes the base for Karnataka's craft boards, the silk corporation, and emporia.
Late 20th century
Sandalwood scarcity
Strict state control and falling supply of sandalwood push carvers toward smaller work and alternative woods.
Present
Prestige crafts under pressure
Both crafts continue as high-value specialities, with GI protection for Mysore silk and sandalwood oil.
Did You Know?
Sandalwood carvers use no varnish or polish at all — the wood's fragrance can last for decades, and sealing the surface would trap it.
Every craft has a story. Every story begins with tradition.