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Metal Work
Metal craft has reached a great deal of perfection in Orissa with some truly indigenous designs emerging from its craftsmen's skills. Bell-metal and
brasswork are carried out throughout the state, with craftsmen churning out numerous religious and household utensils. Lamp bells, ornate with ethnic designs are quite lovely.
The traditional dhokra work is a typical tribal craft in bronze with its
meshlike features giving it its distinctive beauty.
The tribal families in Sadeiberini, a village near Dhenkanal town, produce this unusual craft familiar in items like boxes, gods, goddesses and lamps.
The highly refined, delicate craft of tarkashi or silver filigree work is
practised in Cuttack. Silver is beaten and drawn into fine wires and foils, which are then joined together to form articles-generally ornaments-of stirring beauty.
The snow glazed filigree work or tarkashi of Cuttack was once sought after by royal households and merchants from far and wide. Today, the
tarkashi workers continue to uphold the traditions of outstanding workmanship, but the clientele has changed, resulting in a comparatively reduced,
standardised variety of articles.
Besides its famed tarkashi, Cuttack is also well known for its horn work. Buffalo and cow horns are used by skilled artisans to produce tastefully designed ashtrays,
jewellery, figures of birds and animals.
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