Tarakasi Silver Filigree of Cuttack

Tarakasi is the art of silver filigree from Cuttack, Odisha, in which fine twisted silver wires (tara means wire) are soldered into intricate open-lattice structures to form jewellery, decorative animals, and ceremonial objects. The wire is drawn to a fraction of a millimetre diameter, twisted in pairs, and shaped into tiny spirals, petals, and geometric units that are assembled without a backing plate — the structure holds by soldering alone. The filigree forms Cuttack is famous for include the Cuttack durga puja jagannath crown (chandi medha) made for the city festival, and export jewellery. Tarakasi received GI certification. The Cuttack filigree cluster has over 5000 artisans. Silver filigree jewellery from Cuttack is exported to the USA, UK, and Germany. A large decorative peacock in silver filigree can take 15 to 20 days of work by a master artisan.