ಬಿದ್ರಿ ಕೆಲಸ (Bidri Kelasa)
Bidri is a distinctive metal inlay craft from Bidar, Karnataka, in which pure silver (or occasionally gold) wire and sheet are inlaid into a zinc-copper alloy body that is subsequently blackened with a specific soil paste, creating a dramatic high-contrast silver-on-black surface. The alloy body (16 parts zinc to 1 part copper) is cast, turned, and engraved. Silver wire is hammered into the engraved channels, flush with the surface. The piece is then treated with a paste of ammonium chloride and water, or specifically with soil from the Bidar fort precincts — the only soil with the correct mineral composition to produce the permanent matte black oxidation of the zinc alloy without affecting the silver. This soil-blackening process is geographically specific and non-replicable elsewhere — making Bidri inseparable from its place of origin in a technically verifiable way. The tradition was brought to Bidar by Persian craftsmen under the Bahmani Sultanate in the 14th century and subsequently absorbed into local hereditary production.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Not inscribed; GI registered (2005)
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