Simple Lacquer Plate — 10 inch

About this piece

Simple Lacquer Plate — 10 inch: A plain naqshi plate, one size. Made by hand from sheesham (rosewood) and coloured lac and finished in naqshi lac, the pattern scratched back through the colour, in the Sillanwali Handicrafts workshop in Sillanwali, Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. It measures 10 in across. It costs PKR 1,650. It is ready to ship and delivered within 3 to 4 days anywhere in Pakistan, paid in cash on delivery.

A ten inch turned plate in the simpler of the workshop patterns — a cut medallion at the centre inside a plain ringed border. Sold on its own, without a stand. It is the piece to buy to understand what naqshi actually is. The plate is turned on the khraad and a battī, a stick of coloured lac, is pressed against it while it spins so the friction melts the colour on, layer over layer, lighter first and darker over. The medallion is then opened through those layers with the sathrī, an iron tool held against the turning plate, and the border is left as plain rings. With less pattern competing you can see the thing itself: every pale line is colour cut away rather than paint added, and the rings are true because the lathe struck them, not because a hand drew them. At ten inches it leans on a shelf, hangs on a plate hook, or sits under a bowl on a table. It is also the piece most often bought in threes for a wall. Made in Sillanwali, Sargodha, and cut individually, so no two medallions match. Dust with a soft dry cloth, keep water and polish sprays off the lac, and keep it out of direct sunlight so the colour stays true.

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.