Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c28.s4.3

v1.c28.s4.3

Both solid- and hollow-casting by the lost wax process have a long history in Northern India. (Lo Bue, 1981b: 69) According to Reeves (1962: 29), the earliest literary evidence for the process is the description contained in the *Madhūcchiṣṭavidhāna* (Bee’s wax process for casting), as recorded in chapter 68 of the *Mānasāra* which is believed to have been compiled in the Gupta period (Shukla, 1958, II: 108); this description is however brief. The *Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa* (Shah, Priyabala, 1958), containing descriptions of both hollow- and solid-casting by the *cire perdue* method, is claimed by some to belong to fourth-fifth century AD. This text is well-known in Nepal. (Pal, 1970: 13) In his *Kāmasūtra*, Vātsyāyana included *dhātuvāda* (metal-working) in the list of 64 *kalās*. Varāhamihira’s (505 AD) *Bṛhat Saṃhitā* has the last chapter (No. 57) on *vajralepa* or adamantine glue, vegetable gums and exudation products used in cementing the idols. For metallic icons, a popular cement consisted of eight parts of lead, two of bell metal and one of ritikā possibly calx of brass. (BS, 57.8)