Carved Decorative Plates

About this piece

Carved Decorative Plates — carved plate for a wall or shelf. Made by hand from sheesham (rosewood) and carved by hand, in the Sillanwali Handicrafts workshop in Sillanwali, Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. It measures 8 / 10 / 12 in across. It costs PKR 2,250. It is ready to ship and delivered within 3 to 4 days anywhere in Pakistan, paid in cash on delivery.

Round plates carved by hand across the face, made to lean on a shelf or hang on a wall rather than to serve from. Sold as a graduated set of three — eight, ten and twelve inches. The carving is cut freehand into solid sheesham, working from the centre outward, and left in a natural polish with no stain or lac over it. That is a deliberate choice: on a plain wood surface the pattern has to carry entirely on depth and shadow, so a shallow cut simply disappears. Held at an angle to a window or a lamp the relief comes up strongly, and it flattens as the light moves — which is why a carved plate looks different at breakfast and in the evening. Graduated sizes are what make three plates read as an arrangement rather than a row. Overlapped on a shelf or hung in a loose triangle, the step in diameter gives the group a centre. Made in Sillanwali, Sargodha, and carved individually, so the pattern shifts between plates and no set repeats another. Dust with a soft dry cloth and work a dry brush into the carving; keep water, polish sprays and chemical cleaners off the wood and keep it out of direct sunlight and standing heat.

Every piece is made by hand, so the wood grain, carving and colour vary a little from the photo. That variation is normal and is what makes each one its own.