Brass peacock-shaped surma daani kohl pot, made in Lahore

Brass Peacock Surmadaani

$43.00

A brass peacock that holds your surma — a kohl pot in the shape of the bird, the way they were kept in Mughal dressing rooms. It's made by hand in brass in Lahore, the peacock's body the vessel, modelled on the surma daanis that have sat on subcontinental dressers...

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.

Sand Casting

Molten brass poured into a sand mould packed by hand, then broken open to free the piece.

Used in this piece