Brass Jewellery and Jewelled Objects of Odisha

The craftsmen from the Kansari community started making brass ornaments because of the low demand for bell metal and brass utensils. The intrinsic understanding of brass prompted the craftsmen to produce these ornaments. The ornaments are cheaper than the silver and gold jewellery that are traditionally created by them.

The brass ornaments are inspired by the silver jewellery work or tarakasi of Cuttack and Puri, and also by tribal jewellery. Hairpins and rings are some of the ornaments made by the Artisans. Necklaces are also created using angular and circular brass beads and leaf-shaped strips.

The craftspeople use umehi which is a pot for burning charcoal, katuri /cutter, dhar /scrap iron, jantii /die, ruha /file, siuda/ pincer, chulta /hammer and suruna /forceps to make the ornaments.