Moose handmade from genuine leather.

This art of creating life like animal statues from leather is now practiced inIndore, Madhya Pradesh. Craftsmen and their families practice this art and create miniature to life size versions of all types of animals, from horses, cows and elephants, to lions, tigers and rhinos of the jungle, to exotic creatures of the wild, like giraffes, zebras and meerkats. From a mere photographic reference, the craftsmen can make an accurate sculpture of the animal, complete with the details of posture and muscular curves and then paint them with lifelike colours depicting the skin patterns. Starting with the basic skeleton, craftsmen first make an armature with steel wires to act as the frame on which rest of the material will be supported. This is covered with tightly packed hay or waste paper, bound with strings to hold it together. This forms the body of the animal, which is then covered with cardboard pulp and given definition. On this soft outer cardboard covering, craftsmen and women shape the fine details of the animal’s anatomy, its muscular structure in different poses, to great accuracy. It is this expertise of the artisans to understand the structure of animal from a photograph and bring it out in three dimensions that makes this craft so remarkable. Once the cardboard dries, it can be coated with goat leather when required. Wet leather is beaten to increase its softness and flexibility. Using tamarind seed glue as adhesive, the craftsmen cover the animal structure with leather, taking care not to leave any unwanted wrinkles or folds. So neat is the leather coating, that it is difficult to find its edges. Once dry, the animal figure is dipped in dye and sun dried. The eyes and horns, which are made of glass or plastic, are then attached to it. And then, these artists add finishing touches of shading and painting the details of spots, stripes or patches on the animal’s skin, making it appear amazingly realistic. A final coat of leather polish completes the process.

The moose is a very large animal with a remarkable nose. The coat is rough and greyish brown in color. Moulting falls in the spring. The legs are long, so he can walk in the deep snow, and are greyish white. In females (cows), this color goes on to the tail. Adult males (bulls) have a beard and antlers. Elk have a good sense of smell and hearing. However, visibility is limited. The moose has a snout-vent length of 200 to 290 centimeters. The female is approximately 25% smaller than the male. The male has a height of 180 to 220 centimeters and a weight of 320 to 800 kilograms, the female a withers of 150 to 170 centimeters and a weight of 275 to 375 kilograms. The tail is quite small, and only 7 to 10 centimeters long. The antlers can easily reach a wingspan of two meters. Eland Bulls generally have a wide, sheet-shaped spud antler with short projections, but there are also individuals with a rod takvormig antlers. The occurrence of both types is geographically: as bulls in southern Scandinavia are often a rod antlers and northern Scandinavia more often a hoe antlers. Especially large antlers hoe his beloved hunting trophies. The antlers are shed every year between December and March. In April, it will grow again, and in August or September or October, the bark abraded skin.