Bidri Tray

Deccan, India, 18th century
Alloy of copper, lead, zinc, and tin, inlaid with silver (bidri) 
25.2cm diameter, 1.6cm deep
Stock no.: A5332

Make an enquiry +44 (0)20 7937 4422

Bidri Tray

--Select a country-- Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo Congo (DRC) Cook Islands Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Islands Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern and Antarctic Lands Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong SAR Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libye Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau SAR Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russia Rwanda Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka St. Helena St. Kitts And Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Virgin Islands Virgin Islands, British Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zaire Zambia Zimbabwe

 

SEND

Success:

Email sent successfully

At the centre of this salver is a sage or yogi, sitting in the yogic pose with a strap (yogapaṭṭa) to hold the legs in place. The yogi is flanked by two female attendants, one who bows in reverence and the other who brings water.
A broad ring surrounds this central design and is richly decorated with the pattern of swirling waves of water. Within the water are depicted several distinct fish, storks, hamsa and stylised lotuses in bloom. These are all flora and fauna associated with water. It is thus possible the person in the central design is connected with riverine bodies. Running across the outer rim of the dish is a ring of trefoil motifs. The rim of the dish is decorated with tiny circular silver discs or dots, repeated in two concentric rings. This design is seen on a dish (76.1231 ME.10) and a ewer (accession no. 76.1226 ME.5)¹ in the Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian Art as well as on a salver published in Susan Stronge. Bidri Ware: Inlaid Metalwork from India. London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1985, p. 56. The swirling wave pattern with fish and other amphibious creatures with a dotted rim can be seen on a Bidri tray in the Salar Jang Museum, Hyderabad (inv. no. 56.229) and on a tray depicting calmer water and lotus blossoms in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (accession no. M.89.19). Fish have been incorporated into Bidri design in many instances including the one mentioned earlier as well as a fish-shaped box in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (accession no. 19.135.15a, b) which is decorated with a similar style of whiskers and face as those in the present dish.

¹ Mittal, Jagdish. Bidri Ware and Damascene Work in Jagdish & Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian Art. Hyderabad: 2011. pp. 58-59, pp. 68-69.