This hook is made in solid brass using Dhokra, a 4,000-year-old lost-wax casting technique. There is no mould to reuse. The artisan shapes the conch, or shankh, by hand in wax, then lays every rope-twist border, scalloped curl and looped flower on thread by thread before adding the two coiled hooks beneath. The wax model is sealed in clay and filled with molten brass, then the clay is broken open to release it, so each mould exists only once. No two hooks ever come out the same.

In Indian homes the shankh is blown to mark the start of prayers and celebrations, and it is kept as a sign of purity and good fortune. That makes a hallway the natural place for it, holding keys, bags and scarves at the threshold. It works just as well by the bath for towels or in a bedroom for a robe. It’s a meaningful first gift for a new home.