The dying blue art of Pakistan

Published April 30, 2014
50 year old kashi mosaic tile.
50 year old kashi mosaic tile.

Originating from Iran, Kashi is one of the oldest handicrafts of Sindh. Kashi is a term applied to enamelled work on the Terracotta base. Kashi is a Persian word which means designating to the tiles or trimmed to the form of pieces of faience serving to cover entire, or partial fabric of a building principally decorative.

A special technique is applied to prepare the blue colour from a mixture of cobalt oxide and copper oxide.

In Pakistan, the main centres of Kashi Kari are in Multan, Lahore, Thatta, Hala, Nasarpur, Mahra Sharif and Dera Ismail Khan. However, due to lack of resources, the art is fading in the region.

Here are some pictures of the dying art taken in Nasarpur.

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