Buying Odisha Handloom & Handicrafts: How to Spot the Real Thing

Odisha's handloom sarees and crafts are among India's most admired — and most imitated. Power-loom and digitally printed copies of Sambalpuri ikat in particular are sold everywhere. This guide explains what makes each craft distinctive, the official marks that help you check a claim, and where to buy from the weavers' and artisans' own cooperatives. For the full list of Odisha's Geographical Indications see GI tags of Odisha.

Five checks before you buy

1. Turn it over. In genuine ikat (Sambalpuri, Khandua, Odisha ikat) the yarn is tie-dyed before weaving, so the design appears on both sides of the cloth. A print shows a plain or washed-out reverse.
2. Look at the edges of the motifs. Hand-tied ikat has softly blurred, feathered edges where the dyed threads shift slightly as they are woven. Razor-sharp, perfectly regular edges suggest a print.
3. Expect small irregularities. Slight unevenness in the weave or pattern is the sign of a hand-worked piece. On extra-weft sarees such as Bomkai and Habaspuri you can see the floating threads on the back.
4. Check the labels. Look for a Handloom Mark label (its QR code can be checked with the Textiles Committee's app), the India Handloom Brand tag, a Silk Mark hologram on pure-silk pieces, and the GI logo used by registered producers (see below).
5. Buy from the source. Government cooperatives and weavers' societies buy directly from registered weavers and artisans.

Genuine handloom costs more because of the hours of tying, dyeing and weaving that go into it; an "original Sambalpuri" at a power-loom price is almost certainly not one.

Official marks, explained

• Handloom Mark — launched in 2006 by the Development Commissioner (Handlooms) and run by the Textiles Committee. Current labels carry a unique QR code that buyers can verify. Draft rules published in January 2026 would make the label compulsory on anything sold as "handloom"; they were not yet in force when we last checked.
• India Handloom Brand (IHB) — a Ministry of Textiles brand for quality handloom made from natural fibres with safe dyes. Its website publishes a directory of registered producers.
• Silk Mark — issued by the Silk Mark Organisation of India for 100% pure silk only. It does not tell you whether the cloth is handwoven, and it does not certify zari — relevant for Berhampuri patta, Khandua silk, Gopalpur tussar and silk Sambalpuri.
• GI logo — India's common Geographical Indication logo, with the tagline Atulya Bharat ki Amulya Nidhi, was launched on 1 August 2018. Only registered producers (authorised users) may use a GI name for their products; the GI Registry publishes the register.

Odisha's GI-registered textiles and crafts

Application numbers are from the GI Registry's state-wise list; registration years for the older entries follow the financial year recorded in Wikipedia's list, and the 2024 grants were reported in January and March 2024.

How to recognise each one

Sambalpuri bandha

Woven in Sambalpur, Bargarh, Balangir, Boudh and Sonepur. Yarn is tied and dyed to the pattern before weaving (bandha), sometimes in both warp and weft (double ikat). Classic motifs are the shankha (conch), chakra (wheel) and phula (flower), and the traditional palette is red, black and white. Read more: Sambalpuri saree.

Bomkai

From Bomkai village in Ganjam, later also woven in Sonepur. Look for extra-warp designs in the border and extra-weft designs in the body and pallu; motifs include fish, lotus, temple and tortoise, traditionally on red, black or white grounds. Read more: Bomkai saree.

Khandua

Woven by the communities of Nuapatna and Maniabandha in Cuttack district — hence also "Kataki" or "Maniabandhi". Ikat motifs include an elephant, a trailing vine with peacocks and the Nabagunjara, usually with plain borders, traditionally in red or orange. A special Khandua carrying verses of the Gita Govinda is offered to Lord Jagannath. Read more: Khandua silk.

Berhampuri patta (phoda kumbha)

Pure silk in warp and weft from Berhampur, woven by two weavers working together on a pit loom. Its trademark is the phoda kumbha — the temple-spire motif running along the border.

Habaspuri

From Habaspur in Kalahandi, now woven mainly at Chicheguda: tie-dye combined with extra weft, with kumbha (temple), fish, flower and turtle motifs drawn from tribal wall art.

Kotpad

Odisha's first GI. Woven by the Mirgan community of Kotpad in handspun cotton dyed with the root bark of the aul tree (Morinda citrifolia), in shades from deep maroon to dark brown, with motifs of conch, boat, axe, crab, temple and fish. Read more: Kotpad handloom.

Gopalpur tussar and Dhalapathar

Gopalpur in Jajpur district is the state's largest tussar-weaving centre, known for hand-reeled tussar with a natural golden sheen. Dhalapathar near Bolagarh (Khordha) weaves thick-threaded curtains (parda), wall hangings and fabrics.

Pattachitra

Painted on cloth coated with chalk and tamarind-seed gum, in vegetable, earth and stone colours, with a decorative border round every painting. Themes are Jagannath, Radha–Krishna and the Dashavatara. The best work comes from Raghurajpur near Puri. Read more: Pattachitra.

Pipili applique

Coloured cloth shapes hand-stitched onto a base, traditionally in red, green, black and yellow, with motifs such as elephants, peacocks, parrots, the lotus and Rahu. The craft grew from the canopies and umbrellas made for the Rath Yatra. Read more: Pipili applique.

Silver filigree (tarakasi)

Cuttack's filigree is made from silver drawn into fine wire, shaped by hand and soldered — jewellery, vermilion boxes and Odissi ornaments. Read more: Tarakasi.

Kapadaganda and Lanjia Saura painting

Kapadaganda is the shawl embroidered by Dongria Kondh women of the Niyamgiri hills in red, yellow and green thread, with lines and triangles. Lanjia Saura idital paintings are white figures on a crimson-maroon ground, showing people, trees, animals and the sun and moon. Both received GI registration in January 2024.

Where to buy

Boyanika — Odisha State Handloom Weavers' Co-operative Society

The state's apex handloom cooperative, founded in 1956, runs outlets across Odisha and in New Delhi and Kolkata, and sells online at boyanika.com. Its flagship showroom is in Bhubaneswar.

Utkalika — Odisha State Co-operative Handicrafts Corporation

For Pattachitra, applique, filigree, stone carving, Dhokra and other crafts. The Utkalika Artisans' Mega Showroom is at Rasulgarh Industrial Estate, Bhubaneswar; there are branches at Ashok Nagar, Bhubaneswar airport, Puri, Cuttack, Angul, Rourkela, Jeypore and Sambalpur and in several other Indian cities. Online shop: utkalikaodisha.com.

Weavers' cooperatives and fairs

• Sambalpuri Bastralaya, Bargarh — a long-established Sambalpuri handloom cooperative (sambalpuribastralaya.com).
• Ekamra Haat, Bhubaneswar — a government craft bazaar opened in 2002 that hosts state handloom expos.
• Toshali National Crafts Mela, Bhubaneswar — a large national crafts fair organised by the state's Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts Department; its dates change from year to year (the 2025 edition ran in March).

Visiting a weaving village is the best way to buy: Raghurajpur for Pattachitra, Pipili for applique, Nuapatna for Khandua, and the Bargarh–Sonepur belt for Sambalpuri and Bomkai.

Related on Odiapedia

• GI tags of Odisha: complete list
• Sambalpuri saree
• Shop Odisha crafts