furnace where the colors fuse and they basically harden to become unified with the surface. The piece is the filed and cleaned with a mixture of lemon and tamarind that emphasizes the luster of each color. Before enameling, the surface of the ornament is carefully cleaned. The colors emerge only when the crafts are fired in the kiln. The average firing temperature is about 850 degrees Celsius. When my grandfather got this vase from his dad, he knew that it was something very important and he has to keep it safe but during the migration from India to Pakistan, he lost that vase because everything was chaotic and there was no proper transportation and people were being killed. But when he came to Pakistan, and found out that the vase was missing, he became worried that he left his home and his lands behind in India but he was worried. He wasn’t worried about the Meena Vase and then he announced on the radio that whoever finds the vase will get a big prize but fortunately he found out that it was in his neighbors luggage and he didn’t have to give a prize to anybody but it was surprising for me that he cared about a vase and his lands. The usage is similar, our ancestors used it for decorating and so do we but we use it as if we might not have such a piece ever again but they used to do it and so they knew the process but we take it as an artifact because nobody in our family knows how to do Meenkari. Although I might not become the owner of this artifact, I deem it very important for our family.
furnace where the colors fuse and they basically harden to become unified with the surface. The piece is the filed and cleaned with a mixture of lemon and tamarind that emphasizes the luster of each color. Before enameling, the surface of the ornament is carefully cleaned. The colors emerge only when the crafts are fired in the kiln. The average firing temperature is about 850 degrees Celsius. When my grandfather got this vase from his dad, he knew that it was something very important and he has to keep it safe but during the migration from India to Pakistan, he lost that vase because everything was chaotic and there was no proper transportation and people were being killed. But when he came to Pakistan, and found out that the vase was missing, he became worried. He wasn’t worried that he left his home and his lands behind in India but he was worried about the Meena Vase and then he announced on the radio that whoever finds the vase will get a big prize but fortunately he found out that it was in his neighbors luggage and he didn’t have to give a prize to anybody but it was surprising for me that he cared about a vase and his lands. The usage is similar, our ancestors used it for decorating and so do we but we use it as if we might not have such a piece ever again but they used to do it and so they knew the process but we take it as an artifact because nobody in our family knows how to do Meenkari. Although I might not become the owner of this artifact, I deem it very important for our family.
A%20gold%20vase.docx