Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c28.s8.t5.10

v1.c28.s8.t5.10

The bulk of the samples reported or analysed by Craddock (1981) are made of brass. In Table 20.9 we have not included the Tibetan icons of date later than the twelfth century AD, when the percentage of zinc in the brass went on increasing even beyond 32 per cent (vide sample No. 6). In several samples such as in No. 5 a very small quantity of zinc might have been added not for alloying but probably as a de-oxidiser. It is doubtful whether zinc ore mines in Tibet or Nepal were tapped; the metal and brass were probably imported from India.