Bidri Box for Holding Pan

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

About the work

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The word Bidri comes from the city of Bidar in India. Bidriware art takes a blend of metals and blackens it with soil Kophi DC, "Crafts of India — Bidriware". Medium, medium.com/@kophi.directcreate/crafts-of-india-bidriware-d8dfac83fe69. Accessed 30 May 2022.. Then an artisan adds a design to the piece with additional luminous metals. This box's design finds influence from a prevalent Islamic culture in India and was intended to hold paan. Paan is a mild stimulant digested as a snack or spit out like chewing tobacco. It was popular in communities throughout South Asia.

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