History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c17.s2.t4.10

v1.c17.s2.t4.10

Intermediate in properties between glazed quartz and fused glass is faience, which is made by breaking up quartz into small grains, adding a small amount of lime, and fusing until the surface of the quartz has flowed and cemented the whole into a solid mass. The quality of the faience depends upon the fineness of the grains and the degree of fusing. Mohenjo-daro and Harappa produced some unusually fine-grained and hard faience, but most of the samples were coarser and more friable. This commoner variety was locally produced in Taxila for making beads during the later Saka-Parthian period. Compared to the Bhir Mound collection, the Sirkap collection showed much larger faience, glass and shell beads. Whereas in the former collection, the percentages of the beads made of semi-precious stone, glass and shell were 42, 32 and 14 respectively, the corresponding percentages in the later-day Sirkap became 12, 50 and 26 respectively. The figures show the spurt of artificial gem industry, mentioned in the drama Mṛcchakaṭika.