My Science School

Have you ever dipped your hand into paint and created an imprint on a piece of paper or a wall? Isn't it fun to see the impression your fingers and palms make on a surface?

Well, did you know that hand motifs have existed in art since prehistoric times? Or that the earliest prehistoric art could be handprints made by children? A team of archaeologists and paleontologists have discovered a series of handprints and footprints dating back to 169,000 B.C. and 226,000 B.C, making it possibly the oldest work of art ever known to humans.

Travertine treasure

The ancient prints were found on a boulder near the village of Quesang in Tibet, about 80 km northwest of the capital, Lhasa, beside a hot spring. Analysis suggests they were pressed into soft limestone called travertine that was deposited around the hot spring 169.000 to 226,000 years ago.

The size of the prints indicates they were made by two children, one about 7 years old and the other about 12.

What is parietal art?

The team of scientists, who made the discovery, argue that the prints are the earliest examples of parietal art. Parietal art is any prehistoric drawing, engraving or relief found on the surface of a rock or a cave. Parietal art is considered to be immobile (which cannot be moved).

The oldest parietal art is currently known from the Sulawesi region in Indonesia and the El Castillo caves in Spain, dating to 39.900 and 43,900 years ago. Both these sites have hand motifs.

Deliberate or not?

One of the chief questions on the minds of the researchers is whether the prints found on the Quesang plateau were deliberate or accidental? While most scientists agree that these prints were intentionally placed and so can be considered art, some remain sceptical about how they were made.

Did you know?

In July 2021, scientists announced the discovery of a carved deer bone in Hartz Mountains of Germany from 51,000 years ago that appears to be the oldest mobile work of art (which can be moved), which is the opposite of parietal art.

Picture Credit : Google

This form of embroidery has a special significance in northern Karnataka, and was traditionally found on saris worn by the bride in certain communities. Motifs generally include kolam or rangoli designs and palanquins.

There are so many traditional kasuti embroidery patterns, although there are a number of common themes or motifs. Lotus flowers (center) are widely used, as are other flowers, animals, shells and plenty of borders. Many are inspired by temples in the Karnatak region. 

Like blackwork or other counted thread techniques, kasuti embroidery designs are worked on a grid. Although the patterns shown above are not pictured on a grid, they still are more like a chart and will work on aida or other evenweave fabric.

Download the kasuti pattern JPG and print it out for reference or to transfer the designs. Use the motifs individually or repeat the elements.

If you are using Aida cloth, each straight line on the pattern represents one square. If you are using an evenweave fabric, decide how many threads to count for each straight stitch. You can easily adjust the size of the pattern by changing the number of threads you count for each stitch. 

If you want to use regular linen or quilting cotton, you can either use waste canvas to create the grid on the fabric or treat this as any other embroidery pattern and mark the design directly on the fabric and stitch over it. Use the motifs individually or repeat the elements.

Credit : The Spruce Crafts

Picture Credit : Google

This intricate form of embroidery traces its origins to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. In its classic form, white thread is used on white cotton fabric and according to some theories, it dates back to the Mughal era. Initially, it was believed to have been used to embellish clothes worn by men.

Delicately worked chikankari designs were embroidered on the finest of cotton mulmul (muslin) fabrics during the Mughal period, and it had value and worth for its aesthetics. It had been encouraged very much during that time to make it one of the most popular embroidery techniques of India and which has remained so till date. This embroidery technique is popularly used to adorn beautiful kurtas and sarees and even home decor items.

Chikankari produces stunning effects on sheer fabrics for the shadowy effect that it gives. But Chikankari is not restricted. You can do chikan work on any kind of fabric but mostly sheer fabric is preferred for the shadow effect they give. They are mostly done on Malmal cotton, Cambric, muslin, voile, organza, silk, crepe, organdy chiffon, and tassar. When this work is done on net it gives a lace like look which is absolutely stunning.

Believed to be more than four centuries old, it seems to find its roots in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, India.  Whether or not it originated during the Mughal rule, one can definitely find its encouragement and flourishing during that period for embellishing all nature of fabrics. The fabrics during the Mughal period were generally the soft malmal and muslin cotton and Chikankari was used to adorn them with exquisite floral designs. Special mention is made by historians that Noorjehan, wife of Emperor Jahangir, was instrumental in creating the environment for the propagation of this art during the emperor’s reign.

Credit : Unnati silks

Picture Credit : Google

Origami was on display at the Tokyo Olympics, which concluded on August 8. Athletes and journalists across venues were reportedly given cranes, flowers, butterflies made of paper, as a token of good health and cheer amid the gloomy reality of the COVID-19 pandemic. But did you know that this art of paper folding is even used in space engineering?

Origami engineering

It was American physicist Robert J Lang, who first studied the mathematics of origami and came up with real-world applications of origami to engineering problems. Today, origami is providing practical solutions to tackle complicated problems in space engineering.

Wondering how it is possible? Well, the ancient Japanese art of origami is adopted in space engineering to fold large objects and compress them so that they fit into smaller spaces inside the rocket and can be deployed once they reach their destination.

For instance, origami has helped NASA in designing the Starshade, a flower-shaped occulter in the Exoplanet Exploration Program in the New Worlds Mission Origami helped NASA fit the Starshade occulter, which is the size of a baseball field, inside a rocket. Once the Starshade opens in space, it will allow a space telescope to better see the planets around bright stars. Similarly, origami has been used in the CubeSats project where a huge antenna was packed into satellites the size of a briefcase. Origami has also been used in designing a robot called PUFFER. Applying the principles of origami, the scientists have been able to create a robot that can fold itself up and operate in small spaces. The robot will be able to enter cracks, crevices and explore all the areas that are otherwise inaccessible.

See how the simple art of paper folding is blended with rocket science.

Evolution of origami

Japan's love affair with paper began when the Buddhist monks imported the technology for manufacturing paper from China via Korea and created the beautiful washi paper, which is used in origami.

Origami butterflies, Ocho and Mecho, are the earliest known examples of origami mentioned in a short poem composed by thara Saikaku in 1680. Then in 1764 Sadatake Ise published the first set of instructions on paper folding in "Tsutsumi musibi no Ki". It developed further in the Edo era. Paper adomments were folded in different ways to symbolise different things. By the end of the period, more than 70 shapes were known including the crane, frog and samurai helmet.

Meanwhile, countries around the world too had their own traditions of folding. The Spanish tradition of folding paper birds was known as 'pajarita', whereas folding of napkins had become a practice among Italy's elites too. The Japanese and the Western folding traditions were merged by a German educator, Friedrich Frobel, who created the concept of kindergarten. Frobel made paper folding a part of the early years curriculum, thereby drawing the world's attention to this unique art.

Picture Credit : Google