A Bidri bowl

Bidri silver-inlaid medicine bowls are extremely rare. This bowl is a very fine example. It has a ringed foot. The outer side is embellished with twelve cartouches each containing a stylised flowering poppy plant. The rim of the bowl is inlaid with a repeated foliage motif. The inner surface is inscribed with verses from the Qur’an in Arabic Nastaliq script. The script begins in the base of the bowl and spirals out to the rim in one long line. The technique of bidri wares is thought to have originated in the city of Bidar in the Deccan, which gave its name to this type of inlaid metalwork. By 18th century, depictions of bidri wares in manuscript paintings indicate a flourishing industry of such luxury objects.

See related items

Small Bidri Round Dish

Small Mango shaped Bidri Hookah Base

Bidri pandan

A set of four Bidri carpet weights