Artist, collector and curator Tahmina Shaily has depicted Dhaka鈥檚 traditional jewellery and goldsmiths stories through her curatorial exhibition titled Sakra鈥檚 Tanti Bazar.
It is underway at Dwip Gallery of Lalmatia in the capital.
The exhibition features a massive collection of traditional jewellery with the age-old tools used by the artisans to make jewelleries collected by Tahmina Shaily over the past decade.
The event also shows how the once vibrant industry in Old Dhaka, particularly at Tanti Bazar, is now withering.聽
The exhibition also comprises interviews of the goldsmiths, many of whom learnt their trade from their fathers, are facing challenges from industrialised jewellery production that has created risk for this legacy.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
鈥楪etting an expected product after a long exercise with the sakras, Tanti Bazar was the place of my jewellery making. Moving around the country to see the artisans鈥� work I discovered that Tanti Bazar is the only place in Dhaka that brings peace to my mind,鈥� said Tahmina Shaily, owner of the Shoilee, a brand shop of fashion accessories and household products.
鈥楾heir workshop is an amazing place with the scent of incense, sandalwood, and 鈥榓garbattis鈥� with crafted piles of gold jewellery every day in small, damp, and dark rooms. They etch flowers with small pieces of gold or silver, or adding red and blue enamel to their creations,鈥� added Tahmina who also created the essence of workshops and shops at the exhibition also.
The ten-day exhibition, inaugurated on Thursday, will end on October 19.