Kashmir, has had a long history of the art of stone carving, especially as sculpture. There were thousands of families directly earning their livelihood from this work across Kashmir valley, however, the numbers are dwindling fast and only a few hundred remain.

The person who molds the stones is called as Sangtaraash locally in Kashmir. It is the combination of two Farsi words Sang means stone and Tarash means moulder. The sangtarash selects the stone as per the design and carves it accordingly.

The art of stone carving is found in various places of Kashmir, but Pampore area on the outskirts of the Srinagar, is most known for this art. The artists of the area are considered to be the best in carving. The place has a history of centuries. Most of the people in the area are associated with the trading of stones.

In Kashmir the plinths of houses are made of stones as also the corners of the houses. The local stone used is called Devri. The practice of building hammams (under floor heating) are used widely in Kashmir due to the harsh winter months. Stone slates are used to build the floor of hammams. Household items such as kanz and muhul (mortar and pestle) are also made of stone. Other items include grata, and maz kani used for preparing wazwan. For household items carved from stones, Pantha Chowk and Pampore on the outskirts of Srinagar are considered the most popular, while some villages of Bandipora in north Kashmir including Saderkoot Bala are known for building of hammams.

Stones are also used for making fountains (as in the historic Mughal Gardens), garden pathways, graveyards and its tombstones. Stones have been used extensively in various shrines such as Makhdoom Sahib, Khanqah-e-Moula, and other important locations. Pathar Masjid, known locally as Naev Masheed is a Mughal era stone mosque located in the old city of Srinagar, on the left bank of the River Jhelum, just opposite the shrine of Khanqah-e-Moula. It was built by Mughal Empress Noor Jehan, the wife of emperor Jehangir, in 1623. Unlike the other shrines which have a super-structure almost entirely of wood with pyramidal roof, this Masjid is made entirely of stone. The other stone structure is of the Mula Aakhoon Shah Masjid.

Stone carvers like 55 year old Ghulam Mohiuddin Mir of Zewan Sempora are now finding it difficult to sustain their livelihoods, with the art seeing a rapid decline, especially with modern kitchen appliances replacing the stone grinders and heaters replacing hammams.