Indian bitcoin art

IHB is happy to announce the sale of artwork from a very talented artist who lives in Kerala, India. He has been following the relationship between bitcoin and art over the past year and has been mulling the idea of selling his work by accepting bitcoin for quite some time now.

Encouraged by a friend’s recent experience with buying and selling bitcoin through Unocoin, he has decided to take the plunge and list his work with us. Unocoin recently raised $250K from Barry Silbert and touts itself as India’s leading bitcoin exchange. It is doing a lot of the grassroots work that is necessary in order to educate the millions of freelancers paying high fees by accepting payment through PayPal.

Bitcoin can help Indian artisans go global

India is one of the major producers of handicraft products in the world, think Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel. Handicrafts from India are equal to mechanized products in quality and volume, and are a major source of its foreign earnings. Before industrial development, art was a huge economic advantage for the country and recently India has focused on the development of its handicraft industry in order to strengthen the economy.

The Indian handicraft industry is cottage based and mostly decentralized. Spread all over the country, mainly in rural and urban areas, it is a major source of income for rural communities. Employing over six million artisans, including a large number of women and those who belong to weaker sections of the society, the handicraft industry could benefit enormously from bitcoin.

Most if not all of these artisans do not have access to global markets or bank accounts, many of the goods they produce are marked up astronomically and sold to people in developed nations. We are extremely happy to be connecting bitcoin to a local Indian artist and hope this is a trend that picks up steam in a big way

A rich art history

Famous for its land waters, spices, greenery and hospitality, Kerala has also contributed significantly to the world of Indian art. The traditional mural paintings of the state have always attracted art aficionados from around the world.

Kerala mural paintings are frescos that depict famous characters or stories from mythology. They are usually found on the walls of churches and temples in Kerala. The tradition of mural paintings dates back to the 9th century, where Kings commissioned them as patronage.

Gold, bitcoin and art

In addition to being home to some of the most beautiful mural paintings, Kerala temples are believed to be hoarding several thousand tons of gold in their vaults. In 2011, one such temple, named Sri Padmanabhaswamy, uncovered secret vaults with an estimated $20 billion USD worth of gold inside. We hope you can admire the art that comes from such a rich history.

Seller notes

All items have been reviewed, verified, and approved by IHB. All artwork is original and one of a kind. Serious inquiries can contact ihb@ihb.io. Please reference the item number when making your inquiry. We are able to provide direct contact with the artist as well as additional high resolution images without a watermark should you want a closer look. Buyers will cover cost of shipping and insurance (if required).

IHB is not taking any commission from this sale and will not profit from it in any other way.