Deccan Flower Vase

This is a rare, Deccan, cast and engraved brass flower vase from North Karnataka, probably Bijapur (Vijayapura). The vase has a ribbed spherical chamber with a wide flared neck. Most vases that have appeared in literature have much narrower mouths and a more elongated shape. Much like Deccan lotas, the shape is probably derived from the earlier use of melons and gourds as water holders and has retained this ribbed botanical form. Petals, or leaf motifs, protrude out around the top and bottom of the chamber, with an echoing less protruding band around the base. Around the neck is an engraved bands of lappets, and below this are chevron type motifs in two bands pointing away from each other. These three bands are repeated on the base but in the reverse order. Inside the mouth are engraved lappet bands interspersed by a band of cross-hatching deigns.
Flower vases (guldans) seemed to have been important part of the culture as they can be often seen on prominent display in Deccan and Mughal paintings, and are also featured in frescoes in palaces of the time.