BIDA brass bowl

I picked this up on my travels in York a few weeks back. Initially I thought 'Indian'. I always do with engraved brass. But then I found the letters BIDA engraved in the side. Google suggests African and quite collectable. Although I guess anyone could engraved these letters into the side of their brass to up the value. It is quite well decorated though. Diameter is 21cm.

 

nice that

 

I'll swap it for your sparkly Japanese cloisonne thingummy

 

It’s lovely, something else to look for at flea markets now that I know what it is.
I see no reason to doubt it’s from the town of Bida in Nigeria, based on other Bida examples Google finds. As you obviously saw already, Bida is famous for its traditional brass works.

A fact you may not be aware of is that Bida is also known as the hometown of the man with 120 wives.

Masaba is known for having stirred up controversy in his hometown Bida, Niger State due to his extensive polygamy, and for being outspoken, he was charged under Sharia law and sent to prison in 2008 for refusing to divorce 82 of his wives.[1] Islam limits the number of wives a Muslim man can have to four, mandating they must be all treated equally.[2] He married 120 wives, divorced 10, and fathered 203 children. At the time of his death in 2017, some of his wives were believed to be pregnant.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moham...a is known for having,divorce 82 of his wives.

Sorry for the tangent, boring morning so I couldn’t resist.

 

tempting mate, i really like it. but think it might be missing a top part to fit on that rim, maybe a cover ?

 

Nice Bida bowl, Chin.

Best look at prices on ebay for Bida bowls before you consider a swap.

 

Aj, sssshoosh !

 

What I meant is, Bida bowls, though nice, aren't expensive. I wouldn't swap your little beauty for one.
You'll come across a Bida bowl soon enough.

 

Ahhhhh

cant believe i told Aj to SSSSSshoosh ! (even though a joke)

think i might be going to antiquers hell for that

 

Think so too.

 

They are not expensive but the price doesn’t reflect the time and skill put into making them. They apparently still make them from scratch, and scraps, literally.

I watched a video that was loaded on Youtube eight years ago and read a Nigerian article that complained that the industry is dying because the craftsmen making them don’t have money to buy any kind of machinery.

The “video” is not a video but made from still photos so rather annoying to watch but here’s a link if anyone is interested.


https://nomad4now.com/articles/bida-brasswork/

 

Unfortunately that is often the case with hand made items.

Btw I mentioned the price because Chin was suggesting a trade with a more valuable piece.

 

I got it re the trade. And the value of handmade items.

As usual, I just dove head first into a rabbit hole.

 

You want to find out about items and their background, I get that. I love research too.

 

Curiosity killed the cat but kinda goes with my occupation…

 

And both go with your nature.

 

Interesting nuggets of info Finn. Thank you

 

Nah. You think too much. Dangerous! You know you need it.

 

Pffft stay out if it. Back to the jewellery forum.

 

now that's a different kinda hell !!!..