Bidriware Metal Inlay
Jet-black metal inlaid with silver — darkened in the soil of an old fort.
Bidriware is a metal craft of Bidar in northern Karnataka in which objects cast from a zinc-rich alloy are engraved, inlaid with silver — occasionally brass or gold — wire and sheet, and then chemically blackened so that the ground turns a deep, permanent, velvety black while the inlaid metal stays brilliant. The classic forms are the huqqa (hookah) base, the paandaan and surahi, along with boxes, bowls, trays, vases, buttons, cufflinks and jewellery. Patterns are Persianate: poppy and iris sprays, vine scrolls, stars, and the asharfi-ki-booti coin flower. The contrast of silver on dense black, unlike any other Indian metalwork, is the craft's whole identity.
Craft at a Glance
Origin
Bidar, Karnataka
Also Known As
Bidri work, Bidar ware
Craft Type
Blackened zinc-alloy metalware with silver inlay
Practising Community
Muslim karigar families of Bidar and Hyderabad, working under a small number of master ateliers
Materials
A zinc–copper casting alloy; pure silver wire and sheet, and sometimes brass or gold, for the inlay; local moulding soil, resin and castor oil for the mould; copper sulphate for the temporary blackening; and the mineral-rich soil of Bidar fort, mixed with ammonium chloride, for the final black.
Known For
Hookah bases, boxes, bowls and vases in matte black metal inlaid with bright silver
Where It's Made
Bidar in Karnataka; a second cluster of workshops in Hyderabad, Telangana
Time to Create
One to three weeks per piece, depending on the density of inlay
GI Status
GI-registered as Bidriware (Bidri) of Karnataka
Process Steps
Preparing the mould
Local soil is mixed with resin and oil, packed around a model, and baked hard to make a mould for the casting.
Casting the blank
The zinc-copper alloy is melted in a crucible and poured into the mould to produce the rough form of the object.
Filing and shaping (tarashi)
The casting is filed, turned and smoothed to its final proportions and given an even matte surface.
Temporary blackening
The blank is coated with copper-sulphate solution, which darkens it so the engraver can see the lines he is about to cut.
Engraving the design (naqqashi)
The pattern is drawn freehand and then cut into the surface with a set of small chisels, deep enough to hold the inlay.
Inlaying the silver (tarkashi)
Fine silver wire is hammered into the engraved grooves and shaped silver sheet is set into broader carved areas, then filed level with the ground.
The Bidar-soil blackening
The piece is heated and rubbed with a paste of Bidar-fort soil and ammonium chloride; the ground turns permanent jet black while the silver is untouched.
Oiling and polishing
The black is fixed and enriched with oil, and the silver inlay is burnished so it stands out against the dark metal.
Technique Glossary
Tarkashi
Inlay of fine silver wire hammered into engraved lines.
Aftabi
Inlay in which the pattern is cut as silver sheet and the black metal shows through as the design's outline and detail.
Zarnishan
Inlay using shaped silver sheet set into carved recesses, giving broad shining areas.
Zarbuland
A rarer form in which the inlaid silver is left slightly raised and modelled in low relief.
Naqqashi
The freehand drawing and engraving of the design onto the metal.
Bidar-fort soil
The specific earth, unusually free of iron, used in the blackening paste and credited with the alloy's deep colour.
Asharfi-ki-booti
A repeating gold-coin flower motif, one of the classic Bidri patterns.
Huqqa base
The globular water container of a hookah, historically the showpiece object of the craft.
A Craft Through Time
14th–15th century
The Bahmani Deccan
Persian metalworkers at the Bahmani court at Bidar develop the alloy and inlay technique that will bear the town's name.
15th–16th century
Barid Shahi refinement
Under Bidar's own dynasty the craft matures, with the huqqa base and paandaan as its signature forms.
18th–19th century
The Nizams' luxury
Bidriware flourishes under the Nizams of Hyderabad and a second workshop cluster grows in that city.
Late 19th century
Exhibitions and museums
Colonial-era international exhibitions show Bidriware abroad and Western museums begin collecting it.
20th century
Emporium craft
Bidriware enters the state handicraft network and its master artisans receive national awards.
2006
Geographical Indication
Bidriware is registered as a GI of Karnataka.
Present
A narrow line of masters
The craft survives through a small number of family ateliers in Bidar and Hyderabad, supported by collectors and the GI.
Did You Know?
The final deep black can only be achieved with soil dug from inside the old Bidar fort — craftsmen say the same process with any other earth simply will not blacken the metal.
Every craft has a story. Every story begins with tradition.