Moradabad Brassware from India's Peetal Nagri

The story

Moradabad, in western Uttar Pradesh, is India's Peetal Nagri — the Brass City — and the largest brassware centre in the country. Metalworking took root here in the Mughal era, when the city's founding drew artisans who supplied engraved vessels and fittings to courts and households across north India. Over the centuries the craft scaled from workshops into a full urban ecosystem: casters, engravers, polishers, electroplaters and packers, thousands of family units feeding a trade that now exports brass artware across the world. Moradabad's signature is engraved ornament — dense floral scrolls, lattice-like patterning and figurative panels cut into cast or spun brass, often filled with coloured lacquer so the engraving reads in colour. The product range has always been practical as well as decorative: pots, trays, lamps, planters, vases, tableware and hardware. What distinguishes the city is not a single object but depth of skill at every stage of working brass, letting it produce both affordable household pieces and elaborate showpieces. The freehand engraving — nakkashi — remains the heart of the trade, and the tradition is protected by a Geographical Indication as Moradabad Metal Craft.

How it is made

Most Moradabad pieces begin as castings — molten brass poured into sand moulds — or as sheet brass spun and beaten into hollowware. The form is turned and scraped smooth on a lathe, then passed to the nakkash, the engraver, who lays out the pattern and cuts it freehand with hardened steel chisels, covering the surface with floral scrolls, lattices and border bands. Pieces are then finished in one of several ways: polished bright, antiqued, electroplated in nickel or silver tones, or filled with coloured lacquer that is heated in and scraped back so colour sits only in the engraved lines. A final buffing brings up the contrast between bright metal and pattern.

Buying guide

Hand-engraved Moradabad work shows subtle variation up close — chisel lines of slightly differing depth and spacing — where machine etching is perfectly regular and shallow. Check weight: good castings feel solid, while thin, tinny pieces dent easily. If a piece is described as brass, verify it isn't plated steel; a magnet is a quick test, since brass is non-magnetic. Small engraved items typically start around ₹500–1,500; large lamps, planters and elaborately engraved showpieces range up to ₹20,000.

Care

Uncoated brass tarnishes naturally; polish occasionally with a standard brass cleaner or a paste of lemon and salt, rinsed and dried thoroughly. Lacquered or electroplated pieces should never be polished abrasively — just wipe with a soft damp cloth and dry. Keep brass away from sustained humidity, and wash tableware promptly after use to prevent staining.

Frequently asked questions