Watch: Kashmir’s ‘Copper Art’

Watch: Kashmir’s ‘Copper Art’

Copper has been an integral part of Kashmiri households. The old city abounds with shops where objects of copper line the walls, the floor and even the ceiling, made generally for the local market. Craftsmen can often be seen engraving objects of household utility - samovars, bowls, plates and trays. Floral, stylised, geometric, leaf and sometimes calligraphic motifs are engraved or embossed on copper and occasionally silver, to cover the entire surface with intricate designs which are then oxidised, so as to stand out better from the background. The work, known as 'naqashi', determines the price of the object, as does the weight.

The process of making copper utensils:
The process of making of a copper or brassware goes through many copper artisans as initially coppersmith (Thanthur) shapes the raw metal into a soft object and while he finishes his work the further process of the making copper utensils and showpieces, then soft objects goes to a calligraphic artist (Naaqash) who carve the pattern and designs that copper object.
When calligraphic artists job is done the objects or a copper utensil is being sent to copper cleaner ‘Charakgar’ who clean the jagged ends and finishes the product before it goes for coating process by Kalai-Saz.
The most general pattern used on copperware is of maple leaf (Chinar) Almonds (Badam) and other Mughal blots.

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