Antique Indian Copper Paandaan
The paandaan was sized to the household. A smaller home kept a smaller box — still copper, still engraved, still placed out with the same intention. This one is six inches across and four inches tall: compact enough to carry, substantial enough to keep on a table. Over 100 years...
The Craft
Hand-Hammering
Raised from a flat sheet under thousands of hammer blows, the dimpled surface a record of the making.
Cutwork
Openwork lace pierced clean through the metal by hand with a fine needle.
Engraving / Qalamzani
Cut into the metal line by line with a fine steel chisel, the qalam.
Naqsheen
Floral and geometric patterns chased into the surface freehand by the naqash.
Used in this pieceSand Casting
Molten brass poured into a sand mould packed by hand, then broken open to free the piece.