Urli & Decorative Bowls

An urli is the wide, shallow bowl set at a doorway or on a table and floated with water, flowers and tea lights. The shape comes from a cooking vessel and the proportions have stayed.

These are brass, cast or raised solid, some plain, some hammered, some finished antique. Water sits in an urli for days at a time, which is exactly what marks bare brass at the waterline, so change the water and dry the bowl between fillings. On an antique-finished urli, keep lemon and tamarind away from the recesses; the dark in them is the finish.