Athangudi Tiles

Athangudi tiles are handmade cement tiles from the Chettinad village of Athangudi. Artisans pour a coloured slurry of cement and oxides into a metal stencil frame set on a glass plate, back it with a dry mix of local sand and cement, then lift the tile off the glass and cure it in water for several days; there is no kiln firing, and the glass gives the face its natural sheen. Their geometric and floral patterns pave the floors of Chettinad mansions. The tiles have no registered GI: an application was reported in 2022, but it does not appear in the GI Registry's list of registered GIs.