Indian Vessel with Ring Handles and Avian Motif

Two small heads hold the rings. The rest of it is a great deal of copper.

This vessel with ring handles and avian motif comes from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, in South India, and dates to the late 19th century. It is copper. Hyderabad was the seat of a wealthy princely state in this period, with a substantial court and households to supply. The wide body is a warm brick red, covered in small hammer marks, and tapers to a narrow foot. Its rolled rim carries a band of fine rope pattern. Small beaked heads grip a heavy ring at each side. Twenty-five inches high and 23 across.

It holds its shape, its color and, presumably, a good many gallons.