Brass Crafts

Indian artisans make various types of brass items, acclaimed as much for their beauty and strength of form as their utility. Traditional skills of casting, ornamenting & engraving reveal great dexterity, delicacy and varied tastes of Indians. Modern innovations in this Craft include new items such as, intricately carved lamp stands, teapots, wineglasses and butter dishes.


The unique brass work of Pembarthi, in Andhra Pradesh, reflects the art forms of the nearby Lepakshi, Orugallu, and Ramappa temples. A wide range of brassware, mostly in traditional repousse or beaten designs, is made in Andhra Pradesh. The articles include pots, flowers vases, lamp stands, panels, napkin rings, curtain rings, paperweights and door handles. The designs cover a wide variety of leaf and floral motifs, the most popular being a stylized goose.

Bihar is known for a special item made with the flexible brass and silver fish, made by a goldsmith community, concentrated at Haveli Kharagpur in Monghyr district. The modern Craftof engine-turning work on metals, mostly silver, is practiced in Porbandar and Jamnagar, in Gujrat. The process involves the shaping of the articles by hand, with the zigzag pattern made with the help of a special machine, equipped with grooved plates.

Jagadhri and Rewari are the home of brass utensils with their traditional qualities of strong functional form and visual harmony in Haryana. A village named Gangua in Hissar, produces the now famous, elaborately assembled and delicately carved cart of the Gaddi Lohar, the itinerant rural blacksmith.

In Kashmir, bowls, cooking vessels, flasks, samovars for brewing tea, cups, tumblers and similar products are the most common items, often embellished with highly stylized motifs like the badam (almond), the mehrab (arch), chinar leaf and intertwining vine, and exhibiting a degree of skill at deep engraving or repousse.

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