Indian Vessel with Ring Handles

The diamonds around the rim are polite. The rest of it is pure heft.

This vessel with ring handles comes from India, contemporary work in copper. In India, big copper pots like this have long been used to haul and store water, or to cook for weddings and other large gatherings, with the rings there to lift it. Hammer marks cover the dark, reddish body from foot to shoulder, interrupted by a seam of rivets. A row of studded diamonds runs just below the rolled lip. Thick rings hang from a pair of heavy lugs on either side. Twenty-five inches high, 25 in diameter.

Two people to lift it. One to supervise.