The tradition
Molela votive plaque making
- Based in
- Molela, Rajasthan
- Maker's mark
- Hollow-backed relief, fired in a traditional open kiln.
In her words, our record
Molela's potters are the keepers of a rare relief tradition recognised across India: deities and folk heroes pulled forward out of a single sheet of clay, hollow behind, fired to a warm terracotta orange. Pastoral communities have collected these plaques for their shrines for generations.
Mohan Lal learned the craft at his father's side, pressing coils of clay into raised limbs and crowns. His larger panels can take three weeks of building, drying, and open-kiln firing fed with cow-dung cakes and wood.
He is among a handful of master plaque-makers still working at this scale, and the only one in his family's line releasing work to collectors abroad.
Inside the workshop
Where the work is made
Collect her work
