This basin is cast from an alloy found only in India, in which zinc predominates. It belongs to a class of metalwork known as "bidri", and takes its name from Bidar, the city in the Deccan where the technique is thought to have originated, perhaps in the 15th century, though no object has survived that predates the late 16th century. Bidri is characteristically inlaid with silver or brass, or both, or overlaid with silver wires over a cross-hatched ground. After the craftsman has finished the decoration, he briefly covers the entire outer surface with a mud paste. When this has been removed, the natural dull grey of the alloy has changed to a deep matt black, though the exact means by which this change happens is still not known.
This basin and perforated cover was bought by the Indian Museum in London in 1867, probably from the Paris Exposition Universelle of the same year, and was probably made in about 1865. Underneath the rim of the basin is an English inscription: "From the Purnea shop of Loodoo Lall". Purnea, in present-day Bihar, became a centre of bidri making in the 18th century and this piece is evidence of the continuing production into the late 19th century. It was transferred to the South Kensington Museum (later renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum) with other parts of the Indian Museum's collection in 1879.