When in doubt, always go for the art pieces or gifts that are elegant and minimalistic yet look expensive! Tastefulness isn’t always about spending loads of money, it is about collecting pieces that are elegant and do not get damaged easily. One such prize possession is our abstract leaves and branches pure brass vase with slant opening.It has an elegant and confident shape. The opening has a slant cut which makes it look modern and unconventional. The artists have put their talent and hard work into this masterpiece. Yes, every detail you see is engraved by our craftsmen! Don’t waste time, get your vase today.Décor tip: This is an excellent gift and the giftee would love you for this! This is a medium height vase and can sit on the floor or even on a table. It goes will all sorts of interiors and colour schemes.•Metal: Pure brass•Dimensions (in centimetres): Height: 45 Length: 8.5 Width: 8.5 Depth: 44•Weight: 0.8 Kg •Style: modern, minimalistic, versatileHistory/Tradition:Moradabad is a city in Uttar Pradesh state of India. It was established in 1600 by Murad, the son of the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan; as a result the city came to known as Moradabad. It is situated at a distance of 167 km from the national capital, New Delhi, at the bank of River Ram Ganga (a tributary to the great Ganges). Moradabad is renowned for brass work and has carved a niche for itself in the handicraft industry throughout the world. The brassware is exported to countries like USA, Britain, Canada, Germany and to the Middle East and Asia. Therefore Moradabad is also called "Brass City" or Peetal Nagri.The brassware industry in Moradabad bloomed in early 19th century and British took the art to foreign markets. Other immigrating artisans from Benaras, Lucknow, Agra and many other places formed the current cluster of brassware industry in Moradabad. In 1980's various other metal wares like brass; iron, aluminum etc. were also introduced to the art industry of Moradabad. New technologies like Electroplating, lacquering, powder coating etc. also found its way to the industry.Techniques:Brass metal is an alloy of copper and zinc and the quality of the metal depends on the Percentage composition of both these metals. Various processes involved in the manufacturing of brassware. The task of making a brassware requires a team of skilled artisans having a considerable expertise in various areas. For instance a skilled engraver is needed for the task of engraving, a skilled enameller needed for the task of enameling; similarly many others are required for additional responsibilities. Four stages are important for making a brassware. They are: Moulding and Casting (Dhalai), Finishing and Polishing (Chilai), Engraving (Nakashi and Dastakari), Enameling (Rang Bharai).Various Stages of Making a Brassware:Moulding and Casting (Dhalai)The task of making a brassware comprise of many stages like pattern making (making of master piece) the pattern is exact replica of the object to be cast. The pattern is used to create the mold in which the molten metal is poured. Then, sand which is also called as masala or balu is used for moulding. Sand casting is the traditional process in which sand is used to make the mould in which metal is cast and from this traditional process brass wares are made. The mold is made using molding boxes, the molding boxes are generally divided into two segments which supports the mould when the molten metal is poured in it. The mould is made by packing the sand around a pattern and the sand contains chemical binder (molasses) which aids in holding the shape of the pattern. After the mould is made the pattern is removed. Simultaneously melting is the process in which the metal (brass) scrap is melted to very high temperature using furnace. The furnace is a device used to heat the metal which is generally fired using fuels. In brass sand casting coal is used to fire the furnace and then casting (dhalai) of the molten metal is poured into the cavity. The molten metal poured into the mould fills the cavity in the mold and it is allowed to cool for few minutes. After cooling, the cast metal is been removed from the dried mold and the sand is broken from the cast metal. The gating (path way made in the mold for directing the flow of molten metal into the cavity) is removed from the cast metal using hammer.Finishing and Polishing (Chilai)The cast metal moves on to the finishing and polishing which is also called as chilai. In this section the surface of the cast metal is treated with turning operation in which the surface irregularities have been removed. It is done using lathe machine, in which the cast part is attached to the working holding device which is the cylindrical wooden block attached to the head stock of the lathe. The wooden block is customized into required shaped based on the type of product to be finished. The tail stock of the lathe is used to support the product, after fixing the cast metal the turning operation is carried out during which the surface is smoothened and polished. Many tools like brazed tip cutting tool are used for finishing and polishing of the cast metal. The different finished parts of many products are joined through welding and again it goes to the polishing and buffing section to get the welded parts properly polished before it goes for engraving.Engraving (Nakashi and Dastakari)Before the process of engraving that is also called as nakashi and dastakari, the artisans (dastakars) draw many design master pieces on paper which gives us a greater idea about many styles and varieties in designing and engraving. For example there are many styles of engraving like Anguri, Bidri, Memari Chikan, Marori Chikan and many others styles. The designs are mainly inspired from different forms of nature like trees, foliage, flowers, birds and animals and many other elements from nature are depicted in a stylized manner. The designs and engravings have its influence from Mughal and Persian miniature tradition and also decorations in Mughal architecture. Sometimes other themes like representations of gods from different religions, court scenes, hunting scenes and many others are also depicted on flower pots, wall plates and various products. In the process of engraving first a design is made on paper which an artisan wanted to engrave on the product. Then, artisan measure the product with compass (parkar) for measuring the size of design pattern he wishes to engrave. Measurement is an important aspect to make the design pattern look harmonious and lyrical. Later the design pattern is drawn on the product with pencil. The whole process of engraving takes place by fixing the product on Tipahi (Tripod/ Stand). Tipahi is used as a support while doing engraving of patterns. It is irregular in shape, made of wood and has three legs. The person has to sit down to work on it. After the completion of these preliminary stages of making a design pattern then outline of whole design is done with bareek kalam (fine engraving tool). A wooden block called Thapi is actually used to hammer the engraving tool (Kalam). After engraving the outlines the design pattern tools like chikan ki kalam which is little broad is used to engrave the background of the design and later gehrai ki kalam is used to give depth to the design patterns. After engraving, the product is followed by Rang Bharai (enameling).Enameling (Rang Bharai)The process of enameling on engraved brassware involves preparation of enameling sticks, enameling and finishing. An air blown furnace is step up for preparation of enameling sticks. A pan is placed on the grate which has coal surrounding the pan. The pan is heated by firing the coal which is aided by a blower. The natural wax from trees (lac) is placed on the pan which is melted which forms a paste. The paste is mixed with synthetic powder of color pigments and then the mixing process is further carried on. Once the proper mixing ratio is obtained, the paste of different colors is made into long sticks which are allowed to dry and then cut into different colored enameling sticks (batti). After the enameling sticks are prepared, the brassware is placed on the grate which heated continuously and when the stick touches the heated brass it melts and paint gets deposited on the engraving. So, different colors are applied on the engraved patterns according to the enameller’s schema of enameling a particular product or design patterns to make it attractive. After the task of enameling the product ramda is used in finishing process to remove extra color. The color remained on the engraved design pattern and rest of the color is extracted out with the help of ramda. Ramda is manufactured from old chisels by hammering their front end to get an edge and a curved front end which is also called as chaand ramda and gol ramda. Through all these processes a finished artifact is produced with the contribution of each artisan in its specialized task. The produced products are in different varieties, designs and sizes like flowerpots, candle stands, wall plates, lamp (many religious items like diyas), ash trays, beer mugs, hookas, surahis and many other products which are exported, sold in domestic markets and handicraft fairs.