COPPER ITEMS

The Kashmiri artisan also produces excellent products of copper-ware consisting mostly of cooking pots and ' samovars ' (tea kettle of Russian origin) and sundry articles for the household or the mantelpiece. The copperware of Srinagar is admiringly adapted for electroplating

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, stylized, 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 oxidized, the better to stand out from the background. The work known as ‘naqash' determines the price of the object, as does the weight.

Both plain and engraved work is executed to cater to the differing tastes of buyers, which include many American tourists. The range of silverware is indeed wide: silver tea-sets, flower vases, toilet sets, ornamental picture frames, cigarette cases, tumblers etc, Among the flora and fauna, leaves of the 'chinar' and the lotus furnish the popular patterns. Designs of the lilac, a popular flower of the valley are also wrought in the silver.

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