Tarkashi / Brass Wire Inlay on wood
ABOUT THE CRAFT
The word Taar means ‘wire’ and Kashi means ‘inlay’ in Hindi. Tarkashi is one of the most versatile and appreciated art forms. This art has adorned jewellery boxes & artifacts for centuries. The process involves drawing of the design on a piece of paper & then interpreting on wood, where each detail of the pattern is first hand-carved to create deep grooves. Thin brass wires are then inlaid into the grooves and hammered into position by hand.
Carving and inlaying are done by hand tools. The basic steps of making any Tarkashi product are slicing wood, carving grooves, inlaying wires, sanding, polishing and assembling. Most of the craftsmen specialize in only one of these processes. So each product is actually handcrafted by not one but many hands. Artisans of this old dying art form take several years to master the craft.
The Beehive India has done its own intervention in Tarkashi, where we have developed our motifs especially inspired from pinjrakari pattern of Kashmir. The artisans of Sahranpur have developed these intricate patterns on wood beautifully.
