Lahij Copperware

container · Azerbaijan · Caucasus

Lahij copperware is the hammered copper and brass craft of the mountain village of Lahij in Azerbaijan's Ismayilli district, where smiths have worked for centuries in a tight warren of craftsmen's streets. A vessel such as an ewer, basin, cauldron or tray is raised from a single sheet of metal by hammering, never cast or soldered, then engraved with geometric rosettes, floral scrolls and inscriptions, and finally coated with a silvery tin alloy that protects the copper. The craft flourished in the nineteenth century, when Lahij's copper goods travelled the Silk Road and were sold in Baku, Tbil

Open in the interactive archive →