Benares brass
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Benares brass is brassware from the city of Varanasi (also known as Benares or Kashi) in Uttar Pradesh, India. The city is located in an area naturally rich in copper—a requisite ingredient of brass.
Varanasi is a pilgrimage site, as it is considered the home of the Hindu god Shiva. As a result, manufacturing of brass utensils, artifacts, antiques and devotional items has become commercially significant, and the adoption of technology and modern machines has reduced the time required to produce them.
Popular brass items sold in Varanasi include small oil lamps, tridents, bangles,[1] masks of gods and goddesses, etc., and they are often embossed, engraved, enameled, or burnished.[2]
In ancient India, brass oil lamps decorated with Sanskrit inscriptions, Hindu icons, women, and swans were used in temples and households.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ Sale of bangles picks up in Varanasi The Times of India Retrieved 04 August 2012
- ^ Metal craft no longer confined to mere utensil-making The Times of India Retrieved 13 April 2012