The Maharaja School of Arts and Crafts Jaipur,

The Maharaja School of Arts and Crafts Jaipur

The Maharaja School of Arts and Crafts Jaipur , founded in 1866 by Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II , was one of the most important early institutions in India dedicated to preserving and systematizing traditional craft knowledge rather than replacing it with purely academic European art training. This made it quite different from the presidency-town art schools in Madras , Bombay , and Calcutta .

Dr. C.S. Colins , the first Principal, helped structure the school adapting it to Jaipur’s local craft ecology - A School Designed to Strengthen Jaipur’s Craft Economy also called “Madarsa Hunari” - Unlike the School of Arts in the Presidency towns, the Durbar wished to make it more a School of Industrial Art than of the Fine Arts to:

• support hereditary artisans

• standardize traditional designs

• improve export-quality production

• preserve regional techniques

• train designers for court workshops and industries

Curriculum and Documentation

The course instructions mention that:

“the School should be supplied with Drawings, Models, Chemicals and Philosophical Apparatus and Machinery. It may possess a Museum, well furnished with specimens for the study of Natural History, Mineralogy and Practical Geology.”

There were Workshops for various Arts, and a showroom for the sale of various articles manufactured.

Trained draftsmen documented traditional motifs, pattern books were prepared, ornament vocabulary was systematized, workshop-based learning became central. This documentation later influenced museum collections and craft revival efforts. Illustrated catalogue of articles made in school was available.

Education till class 8 was given free of charge, and scholarships granted to deserving students . The course varied from 3 to 5 years.

The first Indian Principal was Mr. Opendro Nath Sen, from 1875 to 1907, after which Munshi Kripa Shankara became the principal.

Subjects Taught

The following subjects were initially taught –

• 1. Drawing, Designing and Painting

• 2. Modelling and Pottery

• 3. Electroplating

• 4. Engraving

• 5. Sculpture

• 6. Turnery

• 7. Carving in wood and stone

• 8. Kofatgari

• 9. Carpentry

• 10. Blacksmiths and fitter’s work

• 11. Brass work

• 12. Silver Repousee work

• 13. Bookbinding

All those branches of Arts & Crafts, “Kala” for which Jaipur was particularly famous were emphasized and taught - like:

• block printing

• blue pottery

• ivory carving (historically)

• stone carving

• minakari

• metalwork

• miniature painting

• wood carving

• architectural ornament.

The Jaipur Exhibition of 1883

Dr. Thomas Holbein Hendley , Superintendent of Jaipur State Museum and a key figure in “ The Jaipur Exhibition of 1883 ,” believed that museum should improve living crafts, not merely preserve dead ones. The Exhibition created a practical bridge between – museum collections, artisan training, export craft production and supported Jaipur’s Karkhana Economy .

Objects displayed at the exhibition – demonstrated Jaipur’s technical excellence. Some of the finest artefacts now found in museums across the world originated from this school, where master craftsmen worked alongside students to produce original works par excellence.

The school worked closely with what later became the Albert Hall Museum . The museum functioned as:

• a teaching reference archive

• a design library

• a model repository of ornament and craft objects

Heritage and Modern Transition

At a time when many colonial institutions promoted European realism, Jaipur’s school:

• protected stylized Indian ornament traditions

• reinforced geometry-based design systems

• encouraged adaptation without imitation

• supported craft continuity within modern markets

This approach helped Jaipur remain one of India’s strongest craft centres even today.

The Maharaja School of Arts and Crafts Jaipur did not disappear— Over time, during early 20th century, especially under changing colonial education policies, the school gradually shifted:

• from craft-based industrial training

• toward academic fine art instruction

Subjects like drawing, painting, modelling, and design replaced workshop-based artisan training. Today the institution continues as the Rajasthan School of Art, Jaipur, functioning under the Department of Art Education, Government of Rajasthan.

References

• from “Notes on Jaipur” (1909, published in 1916), and conversations with the older generation of Craftsman.