Jaipur Bangle making - sticking semi-precious stones

From the archive record

The making of colourful lac bangles, over the heat of burning coal. Lac bangles of Jaipur are very popular. The lac used for making bangles is natural lac which is coloured using coloured lac by heating it. Normal lac is stuck/pasted thickly on a wooden rod and rolled over a flat surface to make it into a cylindrical shape. This lac is then heated slowly over the coal burner. The heated lac is continuously pressed and rolled over the flat iron plate with the help of wooden tool. The coloured lac is heated simultaneously and then applied evenly by rubbing it on the lac. Once the colour has been applied to the lac base it is again shaped into a thin coil and cut off from the plain lac rod. The width of the bangle varies as per the design incorporated on the bangle. Brass or steel is used as