Tiger made 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 tiger (Panthera tigris) is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to 3.38 m (11.1 ft) over curves and exceptionally weighing up to 388.7 kg (857 lb) in the wild. Its most recognisable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with a lighter underside. The species is classified in the genus Panthera with the lion, leopard, jaguar and snow leopard. Tigers are apex predators, primarily preying on ungulates such as deer and bovids. They are territorial and generally solitary but social animals, often requiring large contiguous areas of habitat that support their prey requirements. This, coupled with the fact that they are indigenous to some of the more densely populated places on Earth, has caused significant conflicts with humans.

 
Tigers