KnowYourCraft

Thikri is one of India’s most luminous crafts, a tradition born from the simple desire to hold light within architecture. The word “Thikri” means small shards or fragments, referring to the tiny pieces of mirror that are carefully shaped and inlaid to create radiant surfaces. Though made from fragments, the craft is anything but broken- it is a patient art of bringing scattered pieces into harmony.

Thikri originated in the royal regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat, where it adorned the interiors of palaces, havelis, and temples. In places like the Sheesh Mahal of Amber Fort, entire ceilings were transformed into shimmering skies, designed to multiply the glow of oil lamps and reflect the movement of life within those walls. What began as an architectural expression of luxury slowly became a cherished cultural craft, carried forward by generations of artisans.

The making of Thikri remains deeply traditional and entirely guided by hand. The process begins with the artisan creating a real-scale drawing of the design on paper, which is then transferred onto a wooden plank or base.

 

Using a diamond scalpel, small convex mirrors are cut meticulously into the required shapes - petals, triangles, crescents, and delicate geometric forms. Each fragment is then placed painstakingly one by one onto a  surface, following the rhythm of the pattern with intuition rather than measurement. Once the artwork is complete, it is sealed with a layer of Plaster of Paris or white ceramic to bind the mirrors and give the surface its characteristic depth. This is slow work; a single piece can take days of quiet concentration, steady hands, and years of inherited skill.

What makes Thikri so special is that it does not seek mechanical perfection. The slight irregularities, the gentle variations in spacing, the human touch visible in every line, these are the soul of the craft. Unlike modern mosaics, Thikri is not assembled but grown, mirror by mirror, breath by breath. Each artwork becomes a conversation between material and maker, between light and time.

Today Thikri has travelled beyond palace walls into contemporary homes and personal spaces, yet it still carries the memory of its origins. When light falls on a Thikri surface, it awakens just as it did centuries ago - intimate, poetic, alive. To know Thikri is to understand that beauty can be created from fragments, that slowness has value, and that craft is not only about objects but about the hands and histories that shape them. At INARA, we carry this legacy forward one handcrafted piece at a time, honouring the hands, the history, and the timeless glow of this living craft.