Indian Cylindrical Vessel with Ring Handles

Straight sides, a thick rim, two rings. Somebody wanted a bucket, and said so plainly.

This cylindrical vessel with ring handles comes from Northern India and dates to the 19th century. It is copper. Copper has long been favored for holding water in India, where many have considered it healthful. The body here is a plain drum, dimpled all over with hammer marks that glow pink and dark brown. A band of a lighter, brassy metal sits just below the rolled rim. Rings hang from short curled lugs at either side. Twenty inches high and 19 across.

It has no ornament to speak of, unless you count every single hammer blow.