Walnut wood is one of the rarest wood types and not found at many places. Kashmir is the only place in India where this fine quality walnut wood is grown. This wood is known for its great quality and unique carving capability. The walnut wood is quite soft and is the right quality wood for carving as it supports all types of carving designs. Thus wood has the most durable closed grain texture that is the ideal wood form to facilitate wood carving without damaging it. The walnut woo is used from the stem as well as from the root of the tree to get the wood work in different shades. The wood in the trunk is lighter in color while the wood of the root is black in color. The carving is done in different shaded by using these different wood shades. The stem wood is usually costlier than the root wood. There are two types of walnut trees – one of these is fruit bearing walnut tree and the other one is the non-fruit bearing walnut tree. The fruit bearing walnut tree has the right sheen of the walnut wood while the other one is popularly known as ‘zangul’ and doesn’t have any of the fine qualities of the walnut wood. The wood carving is mainly done on the wood of the fruit bearing walnut tree.

History

Walnut wood has been there from ages and its carving has been recognized globally as the most exquisite form of art. The famous art found its way to Kashmir through Central Asia about 600 to 700 years ago and was brought here by Saint Shah Hamadan. The art was accepted and nourished in Kashmir due to the availability of the appropriate wood in Kashmir. The walnut wood is the appropriate wood for carving and hence, wood carving has now become the integral part of every Kashmiri household. The walnut wood is still popular but the carving methods have changed over the years with the advent of machine carving all over the world. The machine carved products are cheaper due to bulk production but the luster of walnut wood can be restored only with the help of traditional carving methods of Kashmir.

Production

The walnut wood is mainly used for carving of furniture and other decorative objects. The carving of walnut wood is done manually with the help of a chisel and a knife. The wood is first selected based on the placement of grains and the texture. The closely knitted grains make the ideal pick for carving. The shade of the wood also matters for the right quality carving. Once the wood is selected, it is then cut into the right sized pieces that can be carved into a decorative figure. The walnut wood is also used for large furniture pieces and such pieces are first cut as per the outline with the help of a saw. It can be carved in many ways like through work, deep carving, cut work or semi carving. The deep carving is the most expensive of all and requires highly skilled craftsmen to carry out the task. The semi carved objects are comparatively easy to carve and can be carved by beginners as well. The product is finished with great precision without damaging its natural texture. The finishing of the product is done with the wax polish and it offers the natural sheen to the object without hiding the walnut wood grains.

Walnut Wood Products

Walnut wood is blessed with natural texture to be molded in different shapes and designs. The big furniture pieces like table, chair, bed, dining table, cupboards and even doors can be made from the walnut wood. The carving on these furniture pieces is done in the form of motifs in the shape of vine leaves, chinar leaves, rose flower, lotus flower or any other local flower species. The smaller decorative objects like wood carved bowls, fruit basket, table piece, wall hangings, cutlery stand, napkin holder and many other such decoration objects

Walnut Wood Care

Walnut wood is the soft wood with natural sheen and shade. This wood has many uses and is in demand all over the world. The finished product is polished with wax to restore its natural sheen but the same should be maintained by keeping it free of any water contact. The cleaning of these walnut wood objects should be done with dry cloth on regular basis so that the dust doesn’t settle in the carving permanently. The blower can also be used to blow off the dust from the fine grooves of the carving. The wax polishing can be redone at regular intervals to keep the walnut wood furniture free of termites and bugs.