Indian Vessel with Ring Handles and Avian Motif

Birds guard the rings. Nobody is saying what the rings guard.

This vessel with ring handles and avian motif comes from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, South India, and dates to the late 19th century. It is copper. Households and temples across India used large copper vessels like this to store water and to cook for big gatherings, with the rings for lifting. This one swells from a narrow foot to a wide, deep red-brown shoulder, with hammer marks visible across the surface. The broad rim is stamped with a repeating pattern, and a small bird-headed lug on either side carries a ring. Twenty-two and a half inches high and twenty-two in diameter.

It has held its shape. The rest is speculation.