Silver Filigree
This highly skilled art form is more than 500 years old and is traditionally done by local artisans on the Eastern shores of Orissa. Presently, the silver filigree workers are largely from the district of Cuttack, where the art flourishes. Out of all the handicrafts of Odisha the most unique and the finest, in fact the queen among them, is silver filigree, locally called Tarakasi. The craft is localised at Cuttack town and a few villages in Cuttack district. The process consists of drawing silver through a series of consecutively smaller holes to produce fine strands of wire.
The craftsmen who usually practice this art work as their profession are mostly from the goldsmith community of Odisha. They work with an alloy of 90% or more of pure silver. The lump of silver is placed into a small clay pot which is kept in a bucket full of blistering coals. The temperature is regulated through a bellow which is manually operated by a crank. When it gets melted the liquid alloy is poured into a small rod like mould which is placed in cold water to harden the frame. The wires when hardened are molded to various flat or thin shapes to make designs. Thick silver wires are used as frame in which small and tiny wires are put being molded to various shapes. Soldering is done by placing the piece into a mixture of borax powder and water, sprinkling soldering powder onto it and then placing it once again under the small flame so that the detail of the design stays intact and durable. Techniques such as granulation, snow glazing and casting are used innovatively to heighten the effect. Platinum polishing is done to give a more lasting shine whereas fusion of silver and brass or other materials is done to create some rather interesting effects. The whole work process in this exquisite art form is all manual. The tools used for this work are namely Chimta – tongs, Katuri – cutter, Hatudi – hammer, Bakunari – hollow pipe, Kansuli – die for silver balls, Jantil / Kitkira /Dhalla – types of dyes, Seardi – small tongs, Lehi – platform, Madhia – small hammer, Moskala – metal knife, Ghadia – earthenware pot, Sandosi – pair of tongs, Chulla – earthen stove and Dibidi – oil container
The artisans prepare various intricate designs of jewelry and decorative figures like idols of Gods, animals, birds, flowers, replica of Konark wheel and Taj Mahal. Household decorative items and even miniature handbags are prepared in tarakashi work. Besides intricate designs of anklets, toe rings, vermillion boxes, brooches, pendants, earrings, hairpins. we have utility items like plates, cups, bowls, glasses mascara containers, indigenous spoon called belas for feeding milk to young children, incense containers, vermilion containers are found in Cuttack filigree showrooms which are highly liked and demanded by women. All the ornaments worn by Odissi dances are exclusively prepared in Tarakasi work.
‘Durga Puja’ or Dussera festival in Cuttack is very much famous not only due to the city’s status of being a ‘Shakti Pitha’ for the presence of Mother Chandi but also for the ‘Chandi Medha’ or silver ornamentation of the Durga Pandals (fabricated structures). The popular Durga Pandals use 100 Kg to 600 Kg pure silver to prepare the silver decorations for the Durga idols. This wonderful art and heritage makes Cuttack a unique city all over the world.
Silver filigree has been an important export items of Odisha from ancient times and has been a symbol of the dizzy heights of excellence reached by Odisha’s craftsmen.
