'Naksha' Wooden Napkin Holder in Printed Wood and Resin

Provenance

The Naksha napkin holder belongs to the North Indian tradition of decorative woodware — wooden forms treated with surface print and sealed under resin to produce objects that combine function with ornament. The construction is straightforward: a low rectangular wood frame, the surface decorated with a repeating multicolour print, metal edge fittings completing the form. The tradition comes from workshops in Delhi NCR and western Uttar Pradesh, where the vocabulary of India's older painted woodwork traditions is translated into contemporary domestic objects through print and resin techniques.

Naksha derives from Arabic naqsha, arriving into Hindi and Urdu as the word for pattern, design, and plan — in the vocabulary of Indian craft, the naksha is the drawn structure that precedes the making: the pattern the weaver follows on the loom, the design the block-printer presses into cloth, the repeat the woodworker prints onto the surface. The surface of this holder is its naksha made visible — the patterned plan of its making held in the finished piece.

The resin-sealed surface is waterproof and suited to everyday table use. Each piece is individually handcrafted; print placement may vary slightly between pieces.

Disclaimer

• These pieces are handcrafted in wood with a printed and resin-sealed surface. Variations in tone and colour are a natural feature of the process.
• Minor differences in print registration should be understood as the signature of individual craft, not a defect.