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Earthily exotic silver inlay at India Pavilion

DUBAI — She wasn’t referred to as the Jewel in the Crown and the Golden Bird just for her fabled treasures — it was the wealth of India’s artistic talents that earned her that fame. India boasts of a vast range of inlay work, but none perhaps as exotic as the Bidri art of engraving and inlay, which has been the connoisseur’s delight at the Indian Pavilion in the Global Village.

Qari Anees Ahmed is one of the artisans from India who is representing this art form here. His trip has been sponsored by Indian Airlines.

“Bidri engraving and inlay came to India from Persia during the reign of the Bahamani Dynasty about 400 years ago. Though coming from Persia, Bidri is purely an Indian innovation in that the basic material used is an alloy of zinc in place of copper used by the Persians,” explains Qari while working effortlessly on a unique piece of art.

“Sultans of the 14^th to 17^th centuries were great patrons of this art. The name Bidri is derived from a place called Bidar near Hyderabad,” he says, adding: “Each Bidri piece is cast separately from ordinary soil made malleable with castor oil and resin. A mould is formed and the molten metal alloy is then poured into it. The surface of a newly cast piece is rough, so it is made smooth with files and scrapers. Then the artist rubs the piece with a bit of copper sulphate to obtain a temporary black coating on which to etch the design. All designs are drawn free-hand with a sharp metal stylus.”

Qari goes on to explain, “The Bidri piece firmly held, the craftsman uses small chisels to engrave the design, into these chiselled grooves he carefully hammers pure silver in the form of fine wire or flat sheeting. After the inlay work is completed, the object is rigorously filed smooth again, and buffed, obliterating the temporary black coating so that the intricate silver inlay work can hardly be distinguished in the gleaming silver coloured alloy.

“Now the Bidri item is ready for the final step — the soil treatment which will make the surface permanently black so that the silver inlay design stands out in bright contrast against the dark background. After the soil paste is rinsed off, the design springs dramatically into view, the shining silver dazzling against the black surface. Finally, oil is rubbed on the piece to deepen the black matt coating,” he says.

The products range from small giftware items like boxes, goblets, sheeshas, cosmetic boxes, ashtrays and bangles. “With proper maintenance, your special piece of Bidri art can be kept bright and beautiful indefinitely. Just use silver polish to shine the silver inlay, then rub pure vegetable oil over the entire surface. Water does not harm Bidri work, but soap and salt cause damage to the thin black surface and are best avoided,” Qari advises.