Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c12.s4.2

v1.c12.s4.2

One very interesting fact about the Harappa beads is the great number of those which were made of steatite. In no other place, has such a large proportion of the beads found to be of this material. In addition to the number found, the variety of treatment that these have received is quite exceptional. Some specimens are in the natural stone, but the great majority have had some sort of treatment with heat, which has whitened the surface. Such beads have been called "Burnt steatite beads". Among the steatite beads those that show the most striking novelty as far as decoration is concerned, are the painted steatite beads. The methods by which these were made is not clear, but Vats thinks that both the red and the brown colours are due to iron. The red colour can be produced by painting the pattern on the stone with ferric nitrate solution and then heating it to red heat in a crucible which is packed with magnesium oxide. (MSV, 392, 394)