Scholars tell us of the age when iron was not known and copper and its alloys were used for making metal tools and objects of daily use. A small part of that age is still with us but mostly in objects of art.

Statues, carvings, and castings still continue to be made in the attractive copper alloys like bronze and brass. The methods used are still traditional ones although the raw material today comes from modern mines and furnaces.

Indian brass is renowned the world over and chances are the brass potted planter in the foyer of a Manhattan hotel or Tokyo corporate office has comes from Pembarti, a small village of Andhra Pradesh known for its brass work.

Most of the residents in Pembarti are involved in brass work and there are several workshops in the village dealing with brass. From behind the line of tall palm trees there comes the clink and tap-tap of mallets beating brass. Sheets of brass are transformed into marvelous objects of art-all by hand.

Apart from sheet work, the craftsmen of Pembarti are proficient in another skill-that of lost wax casting. This ancient art is found all over the world. India has an unbroken tradition since very early times as can be witnessed from the exquisite figurines found in excavations of the Indus Valley. Most of the figurines depicting characters from Hindu mythology are made from lost wax process. There is not much demand for these nowadays, but discerning buyers always prefer cast figurines to machine made ones.

Over the last few years some of the wares of craftsmen of Pembarti have become extremely popular. The pert peacock with its proud head and feathers held high is a great favorite. Its outspread feathers are depicted in flat brass pierced in myriad shapes. Then there are elegant flower vases in fascinating shapes. Every curve is painstakingly handcrafted, not turned on machines.