Brightly lacquered wooden toys from a single Karnataka town, turned on a lathe and colored with natural dyes — India's best-known traditional toy-making craft.
चन्नपटना, कर्नाटक · Channapatna, Karnataka
Named for the town of Channapatna near Bangalore, the craft uses ivory-wood (aale mara), softwood turned on a hand or pedal lathe and coated in lac, a natural resin dye, to produce brightly colored dolls, spinning tops, and stacking toys, a technique locally traced to royal patronage in the town from the 18th century onward.
The town now holds a Geographical Indication tag for its toys, and the craft has expanded from traditional dolls into contemporary lacquered homeware, even as the core lathe-and-lac technique remains unchanged.