Zebra horse 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.

Zebras (/ˈzɛbrə/ zeb-rə or /ˈziːbrə/ zee-brə) are several species of African equids (horse family) united by their distinctive black and white striped coats. Their stripes come in different patterns, unique to each individual. They are generally social animals that live in small harems to large herds. Unlike their closest relatives the horses and donkeys, zebras have never been truly domesticated.There are three species of zebras: the plains zebra, the Grévy's zebra and the mountain zebra. The plains zebra and the mountain zebra belong to the subgenus Hippotigris, but Grévy's zebra is the sole species of subgenus Dolichohippus. The latter resembles an ass, to which it is closely related, while the former two are more horse-like. All three belong to the genus Equus, along with other living equids.