Indian Brass Mortar

A dark, pot-bellied little mortar with a fat rolled lip and a stepped foot.

This brass mortar is from India, and dates to the mid 19th or early 20th century. Brass mortars are usually cast in one piece and then turned or hammered smooth, and a thick base gives them strength for repeated use. A squat, rounded body swells between a thick, rolled rim and a stepped, flaring base. Two fine ridges circle the shoulder. The surface is dark chocolate-brown and nearly black in places, with a smooth, rubbed softness. It is 2.4 inches high and 2.75 in diameter.

Round, stout and quite settled in its ways.