In response to growing European influence in India, Mysore and Trivandrum became primary centres of the ivory carving industry. The British attempted to encourage naturalism, or the realistic portrayal of nature, as is evident in the figure of Shiva Parvati in an embrace. The chief centres for the production of ivory articles in the Indian subcontinent were Delhi in north India, Murshidabad in West Bengal, Mysore in South India and Moulmein in Burma.