History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c36.s1: Engraving, Embossing, Painting and Scratching
History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c36.s1
- Language
- English
Engraving, Embossing, Painting and Scratching
v1.c36.s1.1
(1) *Stone* : The earliest hard material used for writing was stone. Engravings on stone are everlasting. Such engravings were made on caves, smoothed or rough pillars, slabs, lids of vases, caskets, etc. These deal with official and private records, royal proclamations, land-grants, eulogies and memorials.
v1.c36.s1.2
The usual process (Pandey, 1952, Pt.1, p. 76) of inscribing or engraving a stone consists of chiselling and polishing it by rubbing it with another stone having a smooth surface. Parallel lines were then drawn upon the surface of the polished stone by means of a piece of chalk. The writings were attempted within the parallel lines by a calligrapher with ink, chalk or dye; finally, the engraver engraved the letter. Any damage in the course of engraving was immediately filled up with some plastic materials.
v1.c36.s1.3
(2) *Metals* : Of the varieties of metals like gold, silver, brass, bronze, iron, and tin, copper was most commonly used as the material to write on in ancient times.
v1.c36.s1.4
An inscribed plate or piece of copper was called *tāmrapatra*, *tāmrasāsana*, *śāsanapatta* (plate for official decree), *dānapatra* (plate for land-grant), depending on the contents of the inscription. Different kinds of historical documents - for example, land-grants, official decrees, sacred books or literary works were engraved on copper, and in many cases, they have been preserved as specimens in different museums.
v1.c36.s1.5
Two processes relating to the preparation of copper-plates, as evident from the historical records, are (i) by hammering, then engraving; (ii) by casting in a mould of sand.
v1.c36.s1.6
Usually copper-plates were hammered into the required shape or size. (Fleat, 3(2), p. 172). Traces of such hammer-blows can easily be detected on many such copper-plates. The contents of the documents were first written with ink and were scratched by an expert-writer on the plate; letter were then incised with a chisel by a goldsmith or blacksmith. In certain cases, as can be found in the southern Indian records, the copper-plate was besmeared with a layer of a mud-like substance and the writing was done with a pointed piece of iron, which was again incised by a blacksmith with a fine instrument.
v1.c36.s1.7
In another process the writing on copper-plate was done by casting in a mould of sand. A particular reference to the preparation of Sohgaura copper-plate (Fleet, 1907, p. 510) may be made here. The plate, instead of being hammered, was cast in a mould of sand, on which letters and emblems were previously scratched with a pointed instrument. These, therefore, appeared on the plate in relievo. The engraving of letters in some early epigraphs, like the Kalwan plate, was done by dots instead of continuous strokes. Incorrect letters of the record, in certain cases, were re-engraved after hammering; traces of earlier letters in such cases appear to be exhibited. With a view to preserving the document, rims of the plate were raised and thickened.
v1.c36.s1.8
Generally, long documents engraved on two or more plates, were attached by copper-strings, passed through round holes in the plates.
v1.c36.s1.9
Besides the common use of the copper-plate, a number of coins made of gold or silver have also been used as writing materials. They serve as sources of information regarding the foreign rulers in India such as the Greeks, the Śakas and the Parthians. Several written documents (Buhler, 1959, 1, p. 116) on brass, bronze, iron, tin, etc., have also been found.
v1.c36.s1.10
(3) *Shell* : Specimens of some inscribed conch-shells have been discovered from the ruins of a Buddhist establishment at Salihundam in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh (*Indian Archaeology*, 1953-54).
v1.c36.s1.11
(4) *Bricks, earthenwares, terracottas* : A number of specimens of inscribed brick (*EI*, XXX, p. 118 ff) have also been unearthed in different parts and preserved in archaeological museums. Earthen-wares (*Indian Archaeology*, 1955-56) and terracottas had also their use as materials for writing. Bricks or earthenwares were generally scratched before being dried or baked (*EI*, XXX, p. 85 ff)