Deccan Surahi 01

This is a rare, Deccan, cast bimetal (copper and brass) long necked flask or "surahi" from North Karnataka. This combination of both brass and copper is uniquely Indian and is called Ganga-Jamuna, a poetic reference to the contrasting colours of the water of the Ganges and Jamuna rivers. The bulbous belly shape, which invokes the fullness of ripe fruit, has an alternating, unusual, chequer board design of copper and brass. This and the beautiful decoration of circular bands of copper and brass on the neck and slightly flared mouth, are fitting with the more decorative Deccan style. There are engraved lotus petals around where the neck meets the stem. Comparable example can be found in Mark Zebrowski's "Gold, Silver and Bronze from Mughal India", cat.288, p.192, which is attributed to Golconda in the Deccan.
The marks on the central chamber are because at some pointm the flask has been tinkered, or hand hammered to mend it.