Latticed Leather Craft of Gujarat

The men of the Meghwal community in Gujarat create beautiful cutwork, gold and silver laced and colored cotton-embellished leatherwork. Primarily leather artifacts can be categorized into five categories- personal grooming objects such as footwear, coin belts, hip pouches, embellished saddles and trappings for animals mainly horses, ceremonial wear for brides and grooms, utility objects and other articles for home décor such as floor coverings, fans and boxes.

Beautiful designs are cut into leather with the help of raapi/ skiving knife. From the past three decades, metal punches have replaced the raapi to cut designs, saving a lot of time and effort. Layering is achieved by stitching a bright layer of fabric below the leather from the edges. The fabric or lattar is pasted on the skin/hide side of the leather, giving it a good finish.

Horse saddle is one such example of lattice craft which is highly ornamented. Gold and silver flat wires are used in articles made for ceremonial purposes such as headgears for bride and groom. The wire is cut into small stripes and laced through the leather in geometric floral patterns.

Banni in Gujarat has unique leather footwear. Women wear sapat/slip-on/ footwear which has rounded triangulated front.