Karaikudi Chettinad Antique Tile Mansion Tamil Nadu

Chettinad mansion houses in Karaikudi and surrounding towns of Sivaganga district, Tamil Nadu, are known for their distinctive black-and-white Athangudi handmade floor tiles. Athangudi tiles are produced in Athangudi village using river sand and pigment pressed on glass sheets without kiln firing — a cold-set technique producing glossy geometric-patterned tiles. Belgian and Italian tiles imported by Nattukotai Chettiar merchants in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries also remain embedded in mansion floors. Chettinad mansions built between 1860 and 1940 now face demolition pressure as diaspora families sell ancestral homes. NGOs and heritage cooperatives work to document mansion interiors and train young artisans in Athangudi tile production. Tiles from dismantled mansions are sold to architects and interior designers in Chennai and globally.