The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 19.135.15a, b
“Although the technique of inlaying metal known as bidri was invented in the Deccan in the 17th century, and Hyderabad remained a center for this type of metalwork into the 1800s, Lucknow, in northeastern India, also became an important center for production of bidri ware in the 18th and 19th centuries.”
The seated Buddha. Stucco sculpture from a stupa at the now-destroyed site of Hadda, Afghanistan, once part of the region of Gandhara. Artist unknown; ca. 300 CE (late Kushan period). Now in the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Taus (mayuri), India, c.1885
wood, parchment, metal, feathers
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
“The name of this bowed instrument means peacock, the bird associated with Saraswati, the goddess of music. Popular at 19th century courts, it derives its form from the dilruba, an instrument combining features of other Indian stringed instruments like the sarangi and the sitar.”