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History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c34.s4.t7: Studding of Gems (Māṇikya-bandhan)

History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c34.s4.t7

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English

Studding of Gems (Māṇikya-bandhan)

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India has a hoary tradition of fashioning precious and semi- precious stones. The discovery of crystal reliquaries from a number of Buddhist sites belonging to 3rd-2nd century B.C., are adequate proof to the technique of stone carving in India. The process of fashioning some precious and semi-precious stones to produce exquisite art forms is one of slow and patient abrading with the help of abrasives which are powdered out of harder stones. Thus, the term carving is erroneous, as the precious stones were never cut with steel. The abrasives used right from the ancient times are quartz, sand, crushed almandine, garnets, corundum, diamonds and, in modern times, Carborundum. Thus abrasives are prepared by pounding, grinding and sifting of raw materials and later on turned into paste ready to be applied. Tools are generally made of wood and metal. Amongst the tools commonly used by the craftsmen are the lap wheels and diamond drills of various sizes. The difference between the Chinese craftsmen and Indian artisans is that in China they used treadle lathe in place of the bow lathe which is still used in India by those craftsmen who have not succumbed to the electric motor. After fashioning the object in its desired shape, polishing was done to provide it with a glossy surface. The work of polishing was done mostly with the help of a stone, known as “Mohari”.

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After the completion of the enamelling, the hollow ornament is filled with shellac on which precious stones are set. The ornament was sent to a different craftsmen, Māṇikya-bandhaka or the Kundansāz, who used to set the precious stones over it. “The grooves are initially made for this setting in the form of an artistic scroll. A piece of thin silver sheet (dāk) alloyed with three ratis of pure gold to a tola, to prevent it from tarnishing, is cut to shape, made concave and then highly polished. This is then fixed in each groove to give lustre to the stone. Upon it is placed the stone and then it is set. In the case of coloured stones, if its colour is light, the dāk is tinted with transparent colour, or the back of the stone itself is given a tint called Joban. The purest gold leaf is employed for this setting, which is well pressed around the gems with a steel bit, forming an edge around them. The thinner this edge is, the better it looks. In ancient India, the precious stones were generally set in their original shape. However, if a spot was detected, the entire piece was covered with facets in order to hide the flaw. As it has been pointed out by a scholar, “upto 14th century, pierced stones cut on cabochon were the greatest fashion”. The gems were later set by the Kundansāz by using lac, tinsel or gold foil, prepared by the Bindligar. In fact, the Kundan is the ancient name given to the fine variety of purified gold, the foils of which were set at the base to hold the gem in its place firmly. Later, the work itself was known as *Kundan*- work. In ancient jewellery, sometimes the crystal is found encrusted in place of precious gems. With the advent of the British rule in India, the gems are set more with ‘open claw’ technique, which leaves the underside of a stone clear. The polishing was done keeping in view the original shapes and colour of the stone. The chased surface of the ornament was rubbed with agate to produce a smooth and glittering surface.

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*Visākhadatta : Mudrārākṣasas*, with commentary of Dhundirāja, Bombay Sanskrit Series, Nirnayasagara Press, Bombay, 1900.

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