One of the things I collect are pictures of birds, preferably hand-drawn. Quite of few of them end up being not just paintings, but paintings of birds on other things.
A few months ago, I came across a website that featured art and craft by Kashmiri craftspersons. While the handmade crafts were all beautiful, one object that struck me immediately was a game of memory cards. This features a set of ten papier mache cards in a size slightly smaller than standard playing cards. These are inside a beautifully painted papier mache box. What caught my attention was that this set had pictures of birds on them.
It took a while for the order the go through and then for it to be painted and shipped. That was the other thing that made me buy – these were hand-painted by a Kashmiri naqqash once an order was placed! I felt really fancy buying them, and when I first opened them I was struck by how much more beautiful they were in person. The miniature art was painstakingly detailed, yet light and airy to behold.
These are currently one of my top favorites in my bird iconography collection!
Here’s the website I got them from – click through and see if there’s something for you! No, I’m not affiliated with them in anyway, and do not get anything by recommending them.