Exhibit of the week- 166
(03rd to 09th August 2023)

SER PAI
A set of twelve traditional measuring bowls

Ser Pai is a set of 12 traditional measuring bowls carved out of wood and decorated with embossed brass work. It is also known as suri bowls. These are used to measure rice, paddy, and other grains from Chhatak to Ser. Ser Pai is made only in Lokpur, district Birbhum, West Bengal. The word Ser means a unit of weight and Pai is derived from the word Pao means 'a quarter'. Mango, palm, jackfruit, and shirish trees are used to make Ser pai. The bowls are circular in shape and turned in the Lathe machine but earlier form was carved and sculpted manually. The wood is coloured in black with the help of a few herbs soaked in water for two days. Brass sheets are embossed with various patterns and motifs like fish, leaf etc. then riveted on the wood. Traditionally, a set of 12 bowls are made which are extensively used by the well to do farmers/Bengali families.  Nowadays these bowls are used only for decorative purposes. The bowls are shaped in such a manner that they can be aesthetically arranged one on top of the other according to size. One largest bowl at the bottom of the set would have a capacity of 80 ser (2 maund) and the eleventh piece reached a capacity 1/16th of a ser (a chhatak). The 12th piece would be an ornamental cap standing grandly at the top of the Ser Pai set. The present object is a set of 16 units along with a lid made of wood & brass plate.

Acc. No. - 2006.1052 to 1066 A,B
Local Name - SER PAI, A set of twelve traditional measuring bowls
Community - Karmakar
Locality - Birbhum, West Bengal

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Date: August 3, 2023