Bidri Basin (c. 1650): Art, History and Details

Bidri Basin (c. 1650) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Wide-rimmed basins called sailabchi were used to catch water poured from a pitcher during hand washing before prayer and before and after meals. A sumptuous example such as this was made for an elite setting. Every element of the allover floral arabesque was cut from silver and brass sheets or wire and hammered into the cast zinc alloy vessel in a distinctive technique developed in southern India.

Object facts

• Title: Bidri Basin
• Date: c. 1650
• Culture: Southwestern India, Deccan, Karnataka, Bidar​
• Type: Metalwork
• Technique: Zinc alloy with silver and brass inlay
• Dimensions: Diameter: 34.5 cm (13 9/16 in.); height: 17 cm (6 11/16 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 2020.205

A detail from the museum

Zinc alloy does not rust or corrode, in contrast to steel or copper alloys.

Collection credit

Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Gray, Basil, editor. The Arts of India. Oxford: Phaidon, 1981.
• Zebrowski, Mark. "Bidri: Metalware from the Islamic Courts of India," in Art East. London, England: Hali Publications, 1982.
• Zebrowski, Mark. Gold, Silver & Bronze from Mughal India. London: Alexandria Press in association with Laurence King, 1997.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.