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Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c28.s6: Household Objects and Ornaments

Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c28.s6

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English

Contents

Household Objects and Ornaments

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Mahajan has reviewed the spectra of household objects quite a few having artistic values (1986: 72-103), and ornaments (1986: 123-79) used in ancient India.

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Most vessels were made of earthenware and ceramics and objects made of terracotta. However similar shaped objects were also made of metals such as silver, copper, bronze, iron etc. Bronze vessels were found in both Bhir mound (with round bottom and sides) and Sirkap in Taxila. Silver bowls, dishes and goblets were found in only Sirkap. Metallic spouted vessels were found in ancient India only after the Sātavāhana period. Copper and bronze offering stands were made in the Harappan civilization and again later by the Kuṣāṇa artisans in Taxila. Dishes of cast copper and silver coming from Sirkap date from the first century AD. The copper specimens reported here show shallow dish with flat bottom, concave sides and raised boss or omphalos in the centre. A silver dish belonging to this type is round in shape and the raised boss in the centre is terminated into a knot and surrounded by six incised concentric circles; there is an inscription in Kharoṣṭhī on it.

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The megalithic culture (7th-8th century BC) of Mahurjhari and Naikund has shown copper bowls of artistic merit. While bowls found at Mahurjhari have flat base, bulbous sides and small clubbed out edge, the copper bowls found at Naikund have convex, flaring sides and flat or rounded base. These are made of thin sheet of copper. Copper dishes found at Mahurjhari show different varieties: (1) with uniformly thin sides and slightly inturned rim, (2) with uniformly thick sides and clubbed rim and (3) with an incipient boss in the centre. Kitchen equipments, cooking utensils, spoons, ladles, surgical instruments etc. used to be made out of several metals such as iron, copper, and bronze.

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Mirrors were made of bronze and glass, combs out of ivory. Antimony rod or kohl stick, made of copper and bronze was a popular item. Toy birds and animals or wheels were mostly made of terracotta. But there were many imitations on copper and bronze also. The leopard toy on wheel found at Nāgdā (600-200 BC level), for example, was made of copper. The Dāimābād bronzes also come under this category.

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Mahajan (1986: 123-79) has made an excellent review on ornaments in ancient India; we would merely highlight the main types which she has reviewed.

Neck Ornaments

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Necklaces of single string of beads, of many strings of beads, with pendants and beads, chains of copper, bronze, cabled strips of gold, torque of solid gold wire, torque of beaten sheet of gold on a core of lac, golden necklace set with jewels etc.

Ornaments for Hand

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Bangles and bracelets, copper bangles various kinds, bangles of gold and silver from Sirkap, shell bangles of many kinds from Prakash, Ujjain, Nasik (600-200 BC) and many other sites, glass bangles of a great diversity in many archaeological sites starting from Hastināpur (1000-800 BC level), Prakash, Śrāvastī, Ujjain, Maheśwar, Bhir Mound in Taxila etc., bichrome and polychrome glass bangles, ivory and bone bangles, gold bracelets (to be worn on the wrist) made of fretted sheet of gold with square clasps encrusted with gems and strengthened with cross strips of gold solder at their back (recovered from Sirkap), copper bracelets, armlets made of copper, bronze and gold, golden armlet set with precious stones and pearls, finger rings (plain), rings with bezels usually made of copper, iron and lead.

Ornaments for Legs

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Single and double ring silver anklets from Taxila, copper anklet from first century BC-second century AD. Nevasa of the Sātavāhana period, leg bangles, silver nūpuras, anklets of spiral coils, anklets of circles of gold pieces etc.

Ornaments for the Waist

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Gold, silver and bead girdles, *mekhalā* or waist bands for the women, kaḍisutta and ornamented string for men, belt of golden coins, coral bead strings and pearl strings, golden girdles set with gems, chain of gold used as girdle at Sirkap etc.

Ear Ornaments

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Ear-plugs, ear-buttons, ear-pendants, ear-rings etc.

Bead Strings

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Made of various gems, metals, glass etc. and of a large variety of designs.

Amulets

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Many types supposed to ward off dangers, amulets with religious symbols such as *swastikā*, *triratna* (Buddhist), *nandipada* (Śaiva), etc.

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Any detailed discussion about the household utensils and ornaments in ancient India is outside the purview of this monograph. We have merely drawn attention to the fact that there was a wide variety of objects with artistic quality in ancient India made of metals, alloys and stones. Mahajan (1986) has exhaustively reviewed these subjects documenting them with 360 references for household objects, 757 for dresses and ornaments and 470 for tools and weapons. A large majority of these refers to metals and alloys and attests to the glory of material culture in India. There are separate treatises on beads (Dikshit, 1949) and glasses (Dikshit, 1969; Sen and Chaudhuri, 1985) in ancient India, which may be consulted by the interested readers.

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