Potters without a Wheel: Ethnography of the Mritshilpis in Kolkata
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- Synopsis
- This book is an ethnographic study of clay idol-makers of Kumartuli in Kolkata, India. Much of the visibility and identity of Kolkata’s creative culture has been dependent upon the clay artists of Kumartuli for the last 100 years or so. This book explores the nature of the carefully constructed identity of these idol-makers as mritshilpis , or clay artists, who, as opposed to ordinary potters, work with their hands instead of a wheel. It looks at how the mritshilpis consciously embrace and expand their market based on this variation and elevated status as artists instead of artisans and studies the embeddedness of this identity within the commodity markets. It also shows that commodity markets, in this case the market of clay idols, are an outcome of trends of urbanisation, popular demand, corporatisation and commodification of culture, all of which have shaped the contours of clay idol-making as not only an occupation but a brand identity. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and in-depth interviews, the book highlights the larger structural relationship between urbanisation, indigenous occupational categories and identity politics. It will be indispensable to scholars and researchers of sociology, social anthropology, political studies, cultural history, urban economy, art history, urbanisation, cultural studies and urban sociology.
- Copyright:
- 2022
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Publisher Quality
- Book Size:
- 160 Pages
- ISBN-13:
- 9781000598636
- Related ISBNs:
- 9781032023618, 9781032282732, 9781003296041
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Date of Addition:
- 06/23/22
- Copyrighted By:
- Saswati Bhattacharya. The right of Saswati Bhattacharya to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Has Image Descriptions:
- No
- Categories:
- Nonfiction, Religion and Spirituality, Social Studies, Sociology
- Submitted By:
- Bookshare Staff
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.