ତରକସି (Tarakasi)
Tarakasi is the silver filigree tradition of Cuttack, Odisha — one of the most refined wire-working traditions in Indian metalsmithing. Thin silver wire (drawn to 0.3–0.5mm diameter) is coiled, twisted, and arranged into intricate floral, leaf, and geometric patterns within a structural wire frame, then soldered in place. No casting or hammering is involved — the entire form is built from wire assemblage. The tradition produces jewelry, decorative objects, and, most distinctively, life-size processional items: the tableaux (jhuma) and decorative canopies created for the Durga Puja festival in Cuttack, which deploy filigree at a scale and structural ambition that transforms a jewelry technique into architectural installation. Tarakasi received GI registration in 2005 and a UNESCO recognition of its significance, though not an ICH inscription. The practitioner community is concentrated in Cuttack's Naya Sarak (new market) area.
Risk level: Endangered · Not inscribed; GI registered (2005)
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