The Indus Civilization (Cambridge History of India, Supplementary Volume) c17.101

c17.101

By far the commonest material is steatite, or a paste made of ground-up steatite. Of the latter a noteworthy series is barrel-shaped or a convex bicone and carved with a trefoil-pattern (fig. 13, 4), which is cut with a drill; the background is also cut away, and the recessed surfaces were filled with red (occasionally black) paste, leaving the design in white outline as on an etched carnelian bead.²