How Do We Carve Sculptures Out of Marble Using Traditional Tools?

Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it —Michelangelo

Marble sculptures, once thought to be the exclusive domain of the wealthy, have now become an essential feature of practically everyone's home décor. People prefer marble art, obviously because of its beauty, but also because it goes with any décor theme and is highly durable. Let us have a look at how we carve these sculptures out of marble using traditional tools.

Our sculptors, who are very competent, deserve almost all of the credit for our marble art. Their ability to bring a block of marble to life was passed down through their forebears, who perfected the craft of marble carving using only traditional tools. Most of our sculptors don't even utilize clay models before they start sculpting; in fact, some are so gifted that they don't even use a pencil or a sharpie to sketch out their ideas. They just take up their hand tools and begin chopping away at the undesired pieces to produce the artwork.

Our founder, Mr. Ghanshyam Agarwal, who has over 30 years of experience in this field, also plays a critical role in this process by selecting the highest quality marble. Sculptures and handicrafts necessitate marble that is solid, perfect, and pure white, as well as soft to carve. Mr. Agarwal personally visits the quarries to conduct a quality check to ensure that the marble chosen meets the criteria.

Once the marble block is selected, the actual process of the sculpting goes as:

• The first craftsman begins the process of "dola", i.e., scraping off the edges of the block to give the statue its initial shape (in some cases, a few of our sculptors prefer using a clay model before starting with the actual carving, and some also go about with a pencil sketch before chopping off the marble block).
• This allows the second craftsman to work on the finer details of the statue using hand tools such as a tooth chisel, the point chisel, the drill, and the rasp.
• The third craftsman then brings the face to life by carving the minor details.
• The jewelry is then worked on by the fourth craftsman.
• Then the final polishing using emory stone (toli), water paper (Rezmaal) and tin oxide powder is done by 2–5 polishers depending on the size of the sculptures.
• The process of painting depends on the type of marble (Alwar, Makrana, Vietnam) selected. Since the marble from Vietnam is super-white, minimalist painting is done.
• The painted statue is then laminated with a specialized spray that ensures that the paint stays on for life and adds a glossy finish to the statue.
• It takes anywhere from seven days to complete a 1.5-foot statue, fifteen days for a 3-foot statue, and one to 1.5 months for a 5 foot statue.

For over a century, SMM has been providing marble sculptures at an affordable price. Our mission has always been to serve people from all walks of life, both the elite and the common man. If you're looking for ways to decorate your home interiors or if you want a deity statue for your home temple, then visit our website; you'll certainly find something you like.