Paper Pin Storage Box Square - Bidri Wire work

Details

Organize your office desk with this sleek Paper Pin Storage Box Square - Bidri Wire work handcrafted Bidriware from goroots. Specially sourced from Bidar for you, this one will help you arrange your study table or work table at home as well as office. Just place this eye-catching beauty on the table and let it hold host of paper pins, safety pins, rubber bands etcetera while you make the most of its utility.

This box has been skilfully handcrafted using traditional Bidri techniques. As Bidriware products use the alloy of zinc and copper as the main ingredient, the wares are able to pull out an even dark finish. High in quality, this storage box too is handmade from such a material. The upper face of the lid of this box is finely decorated with the famous wire work for which Bidriware is becoming more popular in the recent times as well. This intriguing design has been engraved using pure silver metal.

Use the box to store all your daily essentials that tend to run away from the sight every now and then. This Bidriware is durable and comes with a long shelf life.

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.