The Bidri Collection by award-winning Nolwa Studio, based in Hyderabad, India, offers an intricate and thoughtful take on modernity through the lens of the ancient. The four pieces, the Horizon Lamp, the Drop Table, the Monolith, and the Facet Mirror, each celebrate Bidri style of metal inlaying, a 600-year old practice from Karnataka. This eight-step process, which must be completed by skilled artisans, produces a brilliant contrast between the silver inlay and the oxidized base, which takes on a beautiful inky black. Uplifting techniques honed over millenia, Nolwa Studio aims to foster a new sense of luxury and style – with tradition at its core.
The Drop Table features a custom Bidri pattern that reflects the delicate, hand-hewn luster of the metal, etched into the side of the bowl-like form of the base. Small inlays form ripples extending from different points on the concave side, as if one was watching a light rainfall underwater. These divots are formed by hand then filled with silver, an elegant marriage between the aquatic quality to the texture and fluid nature of the etching. This tranquil, intimate piece inspires calm, the circular glass top offering full view of the rounded base.
What a showstopper – the Horizon Lamp is a stunning example of the Bidri technique in a modern form, layers of inlay forming a golden, illuminated plane. Encapsulated by a solid dark border, a satin finish offering a sense of richness without detracting from the expanse of night sky inside. The warm light seems to be born from another time, illuminating the sparks of generations past as they build upon each other, layers of transparency growing brighter as they near the bottom. Ancient techniques shine in a contemporary context, offering an intimate and contextual perspective.
The Bidri engravings take on a more geometric quality in the Facet Mirror, two equal halves balancing the introspection of the past with the possibility of the future. Delicate, golden planes are filled with hand-laid striping, graphic design influences clearly present within the piece.
The Monolith is a multi-cuboid structure, with towering forms interacting in a vertical trajectory. As Nolwa Studio puts it, “The Monolith combines dazzle camouflage patterns with mid-century graphic and perpendicular art, creating a delightful uncertainty of spatial dimensions. The variations in line gaps and thicknesses, along with the use of negative space – all come together to distort perception and reveal the secrets of the Standing Lamp only as you walk around it.”
Nolwa Studio’s founder and creative director, Rohit Naag, had long felt that his passion for design didn’t have a place in his career. In a culture where medicine, law, and engineering were the norm, there seemingly wasn’t a space for his artistic vision. After working for top companies across the renewable energy, consulting, and agribusiness sectors in the United States, Europe, and Asia, he moved back to India to immerse himself in traditional Indian crafting techniques, ancient methods of adornment brought to life. Collaborating with talented designers from across the globe, he created the Bidri Collection in homage to the strong craft tradition so integral to Indian culture.
To learn more about the Bidri Collection by Nolwa Studio, visit their website at nolwastudio.com.
