Indian Vessel with Ring Handles and Avian Motif

Two birds, two rings, and a great deal of copper between them.

Made in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, in South India, in the 19th century, this copper vessel with ring handles and avian motif is the kind of pot Indian families and cooks relied on. Vessels this size held household water or fed a crowd, and the rings gave two people something to lift by. The red-brown surface is smooth and glossy, with faint hammer marks. A patterned rim sits above a wide shoulder and a narrow foot. Just over twenty-one inches high and twenty-two in diameter.

Polish it or leave it. It has no preference.