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Shellac is a resin produce by the female lac bug on trees in the forest of India and Thailand. There is a reference to the use of the shellac in India in age of approximately 1200 BC. In India, the work of lac cultivation, lac craft can be seen Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, chattrishgarh, Odisa, Rajasthan, West Bengal etc. Lac production and lac craft is done in purulia, mednipur,bankura and birbhum in West Bengal.
Lac or Lacquer Craft is famous in Birbhum from the beginning but this Craf flourished during the Sahebi period. With the help of the English Kuthials, many native traders and ‘Lac Kuthi’ were established and profited. Among them the Kuthial or company that was the main one was David Erskine and Company. In 1782 AD, a civil service named John Chip was appointed in this Birbhum. David Erskine was appointed as the chief employee of this Mr. Chips business. Erskine in 1789 AD Came to Birbhum. ‘Chip Sahib’ was pleased with Erskine’s performance and set up three ‘Nilkuthis’ and ‘Lac Kuthi’. Chip Sahib was also contributed some money and Erskine invested some of this money in Lac business. He brought together the local petty traders and set up a large Lac factory.
David Erskine’s sons (Henrry Erskine) joined the business. Later, William Walker Farquharson and Campbell jointly bought the business from Henry’s Lac business, and from then on, the business was
carried on under the name Farquharson & Campbell Company, but later closed down. The history of Lac Craft in Birbhum refers to the Lac Craft centered in Ilambazar. This is now completely extinct. There is not a single family that is associated with this craft. There is nothing like the cottages of the British period, the burial place of Mr. Erskine etc.
Rathindranath Tagore, son of the Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore, brought the skilled Artisan Sri Gopal Guin from Ilambazar to Sriniketan for the aesthetic Lacquer craft. Currently Sk Yusuf Ali, a student of this Gopal Guin, is the only Birbhum Lacquer Craft artisan who has retained this trend. Traditional lacquer craft of Illambazar Works of lacquer craft in Illamazar are currently not available. The craft, we are seen mainly in Kala Bhavana, Shilpa Sadana, Guru Sadan museum. The works are dolls, various fruits, cigarette cases,
flower vases, ‘Pan Patra’, ‘Sindur kouta’ and some lacquer coated craft on wood.
Birbhum Artisani is a not for profit non govt. organization mainly working on handicrafts. This organization is engaged in revive of the famous Lacquer Craft work of Birbhum’s Ilambazar. The main objective of Birbhum Artisani is the revival of this craft. Reviving the Lacquer industry will not only keep this ancient industry alive but also increase employment, livelihood. The one and only aim of Birbhum Artisani is to revive, promote and marketing the Lacquer craft of Birbhum.
Throughout the year, we organize awareness programs to promote and spread the lacquer craft of Birbhum with the help of artisan Sk Yousuf Ali.
Rangani is lac production unit of Birbhum Artisani. Button Lac is produced here and the trainees practices in production for 6 months, after completing the training. In addition, in this unit, the work of the lost lacquer crafts of Ilimbazar is done in a new way.
In order to revive the lost lacquer craft of Birbhum, this unit is trained in lacquer craft under the supervision of artisan Sk Yousuf Ali. This training unit offered Soft skill development training, short term training and certificate courses.
Those micro units of artisans have received support from Bandhan Bank, Birbhum District Cooperative Bank, Allahabad Bank, and other national banks to increase production. The Lac artisan has taken part in several trade shows and exhibitions, both locally and nationally, to market their products.
From 2021 to 2023, Birbhum artisani trained on lacquer craft 150 womens. Completing the training they launched a development initiative to revive the lacquer craft in Benepukur Para, Suri, Birbhum, and 6 self-help-groups (SHGs) in Suri and Karithya. 50 micro units are now working on pottery, lac dolls, and other things. 20 ladies worked on lac bangels, ear rings etc. on the opposite side. Currently, there are 70 female artisans working on this craft in Suri – I block (Suri municipality and Karidhya village), together with six SHGs. Additionally, Birbhum Artisani offers skill development training in lacquer crafts as well as design development training for those who are interested in becoming an artist and the Birbhum Lacquer Craft Revive Project continue 2025.
