Dish (Primary Title)
Plate (Alternate Title)
Unknown (Artist)
This opulent plate is decorated with thirty-three glass-and-gold plaques arranged in three concentric circles. It is a large and stunning example of so-called thewa, made in the town of Pratapgarh by artisans from a single family. After punching and engraving sheets of gold foil into intricate lacy designs, they are fused to pieces of colored glass using a jealously guarded technique. The plaques, also backed by sheets of shiny foil, are then set into gilded silver mounts to create objects as diverse as jewelry, religious icons, and serving dishes. The designs on this plate are typical of thewa: hunt scenes on the outer green ring, Hindu deities and personified musical modes around the middle blue ring, and winged, female stick-dancers aorund the open flower on the large, red plaque at the center.
Kathleen Boone Samuels Memorial Fund
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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