Paper Pin Storage Box - Bidri Phuljhari work

Details

De-clutter your office desk with this attractive yet functional Paper Pin Storage Box Bidri Phuljhari work Bidriware. This startling handmade Bidri product finds no match in terms of beauty and utility. Also, you can now brilliantly arrange your paper pins neatly with the help of this superb handicraft item. Now those paper pins wont lie here and there but a centralized place where you can easily store the pins and make use of them.

This beautiful box is handmade from the alloy of zinc and copper. The jet-black finish of the box is due to zinc which is relatively more in quantity than copper. Finally, the box has been etched with the conventional Phuljhari (sparkler) work that brings out the most unique play of contrasts. The Phuljhari design is engraved on the upper face of the lid of the box and it uses sterling silver in the design throughout.

Use this box to add a touch of beauty and sophistication as well as utility to your office desk. It can also be used in homes to store petty stuffs such as paper pins, rubber bands, safety pins, stapler pins and so on.

About Bidri Art

The Bidri Art is identified as one of the most popular metal handicrafts that originated in Bidar region of Karnataka. It was first introduced during the rule of the Bahamani Sultans in around 14th century C.E. The township of Bidar lends the art its name Bidriware and it is still a prominent centre for crafting intriguing metallic products.

The handmade Bidri products are valued as a symbol of wealth. The metal used in Bidri products is a blackened alloy copper and zinc inlaid with fine sheets of pure silver metal. The fine motifs and the wirework with which Bidriware is laced, gives the products a unique definition altogether. Moreover, Bidri handicraft products are in great demand in the export market due to its gorgeous inlay work.

Procedure

Unique Bidriware products are handcrafted from an alloy of copper and zinc by casting in the ratio 1:16. While the zinc content gives the alloy a rich jet black colour, copper provides it with a noticeable lustre and robustness.

A mould of soil is made malleable by adding resin and castor oil. After the molten metal has been poured into this mould, the cast piece is smoothened by filing for a shiny look and feel. This casting is coated with a concentrated solution of copper sulphate that provides it with a temporary black coating on which the designs are etched freehand.

The designs are usually the typical poppy flowers and vine creepers, stars and Ashrafi-ki-booti. Some may also feature traditional motifs in the form of Arabic script or the Persian Rose.

The casting is then securely placed in a clamp to engrave it with intricate motifs using small chisels. Its grooves are then carefully hammered with flattened strips of pure silver metal or fine wires for a desired look

Before the Bidriware artefact could be sold out in the market it is filed, chiselled, polished and smoothened to remove deformities caused due to the black coating. This process results in a strikingly noticeable silver inlay shining on a dark metallic background.

Region

The art of Bidri handicraft is widely practised in Bidar, Karnataka as well as in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Purnia in Bihar, Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh and Murshidabad in West Bengal are few of the other regions of the country that produce excellent Bidri products.