History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c34.s3.1

v1.c34.s3.1

The Indian goldsmith, popularly known as Sunār, works entirely with a small set of indigenous tools and implements at his command. All his work is basically manual where he depends entirely on his personal experience, dexterity and judgement. The profession was hereditary, carried from father to son without much external influence. The basic elements of the craft, the traditional forms, motifs and designs of ornaments and the indigenous materials for his work were based on oral instructions and experience. Every village had a family of goldsmiths who would fulfil the basic needs of the rural community. Ofcourse, the urban-based goldsmiths were comparatively more exposed to outside influences in so far as they could copy the forms, motifs and designs of ornaments provided to them as models for fashioning new types of ornaments suiting the taste and traits of their new customers.