Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c28.s10.4

v1.c28.s10.4

Lo Bue (1981a: 33) and Khan (1986: 80-81) have briefly surveyed the fanciful claims made in the ancient world regarding multi-metallic alloys. Abul Fazl claimed incoherently that *haft-josh* consists of six-metals like *khar-chini*. The fact is that the latter is probably a Chinese cupro-arsenic alloy (*vide* items 4 and 5 in Table 20.9) occasionally containing nickel and/or antimony, whereas *haft-josh*, as the name suggests, was a seven-metal alloy with Persian legend consisting of copper, tin, zinc, lead, iron, gold and silver. In the Islam population of Persia and India, it was claimed that this alloy was used to make amulets of magical and religious value. Khan (1986: 90) quoted Partington’s analysis of such amulets made in Iran showing not seven but only three major elements: copper, tin and zinc.