Jamshedpur, June 5: Moving away from contemporary lines, the handicraft exhibition that began at the Tulsi Bhavan this evening displayed furniture designs with Mughal influence.

These include cabinets, study tables, dining table sets and room dividers to the more in-vogue smaller pieces of room decoration.

From intricately-carved sofa sets to the adorned wooden cabinets, the exhibition has a fair mix of varied products on display. Also available is a wide variety of rocking chairs, easy chairs and the more stylish telephone and candle stands. Made by artisans at a factory in Uttar Pradesh, some of them blind, artistes have added a touch of glamour to the huge range of wooden products.

The highlight is certainly the array of designs available at the venue.

While large sofa sets have been given a Mughal touch by the use of rare carvings, wooden cabinets made of sesame and teak wood have been adorned by a variety of copper and brass inlay work.

“There is a heavy use of designs to lend a different look to the pieces,” said R.K Kamaal, sales manager of Wood Land Handicrafts Industries, the group involved in bringing the exhibition to the steel city for the first time.

Buoyed by an overwhelming response at the recently-concluded exhibition held at Patna, the organisers are hopeful of a great show in Jamshedpur as well.

“Along with a demand for contemporary and chic designs here, there is also a demand for high-quality designs with a royal look,” said Basant Kumar Jha, a senior member of the organising committee.

Prices of these products — all of them being handmade — range from Rs 20 to highly-priced antique sets at Rs 30,000. The exhibition continues till June 19.