Surahi, an elegant wine bottle made from bronze casting using the lost wax process. - Bronze - India - Mughal Empire (1526-1857)

Elegant Surāhī in bronze engraved with lost-wax casting
Northern India, Indo-Persian area, 18th century (or earlier)
Imposing surāhī (ritual vessel or container for liquids), entirely made of cast bronze using the lost-wax technique, with a surface finely engraved with stylized vegetal motifs. The piece is a fine example of northern Indian metallurgical art, likely originating from the Mughal area or within the Indo-Persian cultural sphere, where the production of everyday metal objects was closely linked to both ceremonial practices and courtly aesthetics.
The shape features a slender structure, with a globular, polylobed body, a tapered and flared neck, and an elegant disc-shaped constriction, a distinctive feature of many Moghul-era productions from the 17th to 18th centuries. The entire surface of the vessel is divided into vertical registers decorated with intricate floral scrolls, intertwined branches, and stylized leaves, incised with a sharp and continuous stroke, following a decorative tradition that directly parallels motifs found in Islamic book and miniature art. These embellishments serve not only an aesthetic purpose but also reflect the spiritual and contemplative dimension of the object itself, often intended for ceremonial or elite domestic settings.
The typology of surāhī is well documented in the literature and is frequently compared across specimens published in museum catalogues, notably including Mark Zebrowski's 'Gold, Silver and Bronze from Mughal India' (1981), where similar models, although more richly decorated, are illustrated in the sections dedicated to the metalworking production of the Deccan and northern India. This specimen, due to its sober elegance and formal purity, belongs to a functional typology, but one of the highest execution standards.
The contact wear and the rich brown patina with light oxidation attest to prolonged use consistent with the antiquity of the work. The smooth, unsigned base suggests a refined workshop production, but not necessarily intended for the imperial sphere, rather for a high private or noble clientele.

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