072. Leather Toys of Indore

Leather toys of Indore, Madhya Pradesh are lifelike animal sculptures moulded and covered with leather skin and painted to give a realistic look. Craftsmen and their families have been practicing this art for decades and are masters in creating miniatures to life size versions of all types of animals. 

The art of making Leather toys is said to be inspired from Taxidermy, the art of preserving animals in their original shape, after being hunted. The animals are done in varied sizes ranging from 4’’- 36’’. Sheep and Goat leather used as finishing coverings on iron and dry hay moulds giving interesting shape of animals.

The leather toys appear realistic and most of them in animated sequence, each toy represent a different motion e.g. there are different types of horses in different motions like a running horse, a jumping horse, a grazing horse, a neighing horse, a galloping horse, a standing horse. 

Craftsman first starts with creating a skeleton of the desired animal with steel wires. This skeleton works as a frame on which the rest of the material is added. The frame is then covered with closely packed hay or waste paper and is bound with strings to hold it together, forming the body of the animal. 

The body is then layered with cardboard pulp. The details of the animal's muscular anatomy in different poses are shaped in the cardboard covering. After the cardboard is dried up, it is coated with leather using natural adhesive. The toy is dipped in dye and sun dried. 

Craftsmen then put the eyes, horns and other additional details as per the creature's anatomy. Lastly, desired spots, stripes or patches on the animal's skin are painted  and a final coat of leather polish completes the process. 

The animal figures created bear a very natural textural quality as seen originally on the animals. The colors are also kept natural as far as possible. The sheen of the animal skin is also maintained on to the toy animals to keep their natural look intact.

GI Tag Registration Date         : 10 July 2008

GI Tag Number                         : 97

Certificate Number                  : 77

Geographical Area                  : Madhya Pradesh

Special Cover Release Date   : 17 August 2021

Cancellation                             : Bhopal 462 001

Type                                          : GI Tag Cover

Cover Identification Number  : MP CO - 10/2021

Enlarged View of Illustration

Enlarged View of Cancellation