Kinhal Toys, a thematic and folk/village art form, practiced and produced by artisans in Kinhal Village, Ballari and Koppal districts of North Karnataka thrived under the royal patronage of the Vijayanagara empire.

The art reflects a culturally rich craft of hand painted wooden articles and the artists primarily paint around themes like Gods and Goddesses of ‘Vaishnavism’ and ‘Shaivism’, animal forms, vegetables, palanquins, etc. What is distinctive about the craft is the technique of making the silver colour paint ‘Lejjawara’ which is unique to this form. Natural ingredients like tamarind seeds are used as paste to make natural glue.

The toys are made out of soft and light wood and are colourful. Artisans use few specific colours, with a monochromatic and flat background usually. Natural colours are prepared at home by artisans from limestone, besides other various colours are made from tin.