Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c7: List of Illustrations

Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c7

Language: English

List of Illustrations

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*Ill. 1.1* Four steatite seals from Mohenjo-Daro. One has tree divinity, devotee, sacrificial bull and seven sages (*saptarṣi*). The other is Paśupati in Yoga posture.

*Ill. 1.2* Top shows jewels from Harappa. Necklace of gold, semiprecious stones and vitreous paste. Gold bracelet. Double-coil ornament. Setting of the red cone-shaped stone with the central hinge. Bottom shows series of pierced pieces for jewellery of jade, semi-precious stones, terracotta, thin enamel (with trefoil motif) and bronze. Mohenjo-Daro. National Museum, New Delhi.

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*Ill. 1.3* Less than 3 inches mutilated male torso from Harappa of red sandstone.

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*Ill. 1.4* Male bust of calcareous marble (or of steatite or limestone or alabaster?), Mohenjo-Daro. Phase studies necessary. King-priest, cloak covered with sacred trefoils. Elongated face and stylized beard, National Museum, Karachi.

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*Ill. 1.5, 1.6* Dancing Girl. Mohenjo-Daro. Height 10.8 cms. Thick-lipped, snub-nosed aboriginal from Southern Baluchistan with bangles, armlet and stringed necklace with three cowrie shell pendants. Bronze statuette cast by the cire perdue method National Museum, New Delhi.

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*Ill. 1.7* Lothal. Copper and bronze bangles, rings and spacer beads, Lothal Museum.

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*Ill. 1.8* Lothal. Necklace of micro-beads of gold.

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*Ill. 1.9* Lothal. Beads of semi-precious stones, agate, carnelian, steatite and faience.

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*Ill. 1.10* Brass Object part of a chariot in submerged Dwarka circa 1500 BC. Analyses Cu 73.71%, Zn 10.68, Pb 1.32, Fe 0.43. Dwarka, Lothal and Atrañjikhera show earliest brass in India. Courtesy Prof. S.R. Rao.

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[Figure: Ill. 1.11] Chariot. Daimābād. Bronze. Length 50 cm. Height 23.3 cm. The animals in the chariot look like bull-horses or unicorns. The chariot has two solid wheels moving along with the axle driven by a Proto-Australoid man (priest?). Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi.

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[Figure: Ill. 1.12] Rhinoceros. Daimābād Bronze. Length 24 cm. Height 28.5 cm. Breadth 14.6 cm. Standing on two horizontal bars over two sets of wheels. Mouth is longish resembling the snout of a boar.

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[Figure: Ill. 1.13] Typical copper objects from the Mature-Harappan levels of Kālībaṅgan. Courtesy : B.K. Thapar and the Archaeological Survey of India.

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[Figure: Ill. 1.14] Copper Hoard Implements. Chisels, Harpoons, Swords, etc. from Gaṅgā-Yamunā Doab, National Museum, New Delhi.

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[Figure: Ill. 1.15] The Lion Capital of Sārnāth. Polished Sandstone. Aśoka’s Reign. Ca 272-232 BC.

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[Figure: Ill. 1.16] Yakṣi and Yakṣa from Bharhut second century BC. Sandstone railing. Indian Museum, Calcutta.

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[Figure: Ill. 1.17] Gems from Taxila, 1945 hoard. 1-3: gold ornaments. 4: amethyst bead. 5: crystal bead.

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[Figure: Ill. 1.18] Silver bent-bar coins from the Bhir Mound, Taxila. 1945 hoard.

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[Figure: Ill. 1.19] Gold Beads from Taxila, Bhir Mound, 1945 hoard.

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[Figure: Ill. 1.20] Prince with a bow. (Front and Back). Nāgārjunakoṇḍā. Ikṣvāku Period. Third century AD. Height 8.5 cm. Suggestive of the Sātavāhana prince, a ‘friend’ of Nāgārjuna, the first commentator on distilled zinc and brass.

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[Figure: Ill. 1.21] Dharmacakra. Chausa. Kuṣāṇa period, second century AD, Height 32.5 cm., Diameter 8 cm. Dharmacakra or the Buddhist triune or triratna concept of religious doctrine, law and order. The wheel has sixteen spokes with a plain felly and supported by two crocodiles with Śalabhañjikās or female nature spirits in their jaws. Cast bronze. Patna Museum.

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*Ill. 1.22* Fourth and fifth century AD Gupta Era gold coins showing horse-sacrifice, the king hunting, reclining, under an umbrella, with battle axe, playing the lyre, riding an elephant and hunting a lion, riding a horse and hunting a rhinoceros. The last four depict goddesses : Lakṣmī with cornucopia, with a dancing peacock and Gaṅgā on the crocodile.

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*Ill. 1.23* Zawarmala Mine. Double arches made by fire-setting. The lower set is of later origin resulting from retreat working.

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*Ill. 1.24, 1.25* The Delhi Iron Pillar (early 5th century AD) installed by Candragupta Vikramāditya II, as per the Sanskrit inscription on the body. The corrosion-resistance of the forge-welded wrought iron structure is partly due to its composition (low C and Mn, high P).

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*Ill. 1.26* Copper Refining Furnace at Khetri (Ball, Economic Geology of India).

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*Ill. 1.27* Ewer, A Bidriware, inlaid with silver and brass, inscribed on the rim. The base metal is high-zinc-low-copper alloy. The black patina is due to KNO₃ — oxidation of copper-rich phase. The design is cut out of sheet silver with brass wire being used to indicate details. The inscription suggests that the ewer was made for Timur in 1406 or 1407. Height 28.5 cm, Width 18.4 cm.

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*Ill. 1.28* Huqqa base, a Bidriware inlaid with silver and brass. Second half of 17th century. Height 18.6 cm, Diam. 16.8 cm. Silver has been used for the flowers and brass for the leaves and stems.

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*Ill. 1.29* Vṛntāka-Mūṣā, brinjal-like Zinc (ore) reduction-distillation crucible from Zawar. Slag in broken Zinc distillation retorts.

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*Ill. 1.30* The upper part of Gupta Period Jivantasvāmī 40.5 cm x 11.2 cm Composition Cu 73.4%, Sn 5.5%, Zn 3.6%, Pb 9.8%, Fe 4.9%. Metallography shows lead at the grain boundary. The attractive image has triple-folded neck, the broad shoulders, the armlet and its beaded band, circular ornamental Gavākṣa motif, circular Tilaka mark on the forehead, broad necklace, inlaid eyes, the ringlets of hair on the shoulders, the four-sided tall crown marked by caitya window ornament in front, Baroda Museum.

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*Ill. 1.31* Yakṣī Ambikā. From Akoṭa. Maitraka, sixth century AD. 27 cm x 14.5 cm. Analysis : copper 76.7%, Sn 1.6%, Zn 16.3%, Pb 4.0%. Baroda Museum.

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*Ill. 1.32* Tritirtha image of Pārśvanātha. From Akoṭa, Maitraka, 7th century AD. Baroda Museum 22 cm x 11 cm. Analysis : copper 80.8%., Sn 5.3%, Zn 7.4%, Pb 2.2% and Fe 1.0%.

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*Ill. 1.33* Fly-whisk bearer (camaradharini). Fr om Akoṭa. Maitraka, seventh century AD. 21.5 cm. ht., 4.5 cm shoulder width. Analysis: copper 73.2%, Sn 2.2%, Zn 10.7%, Pb 11.3% and Fe 1.4%. Metallography reveals lead precipitation, annealing below the recrystallisation temperature and heavy cold working. Baroda Museum.

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*Ill. 1.34* Tritirthika of Pārśvanātha. Akoṭa. Early Solaṅkī period circa 950 AD Height 48 cm. An inscription on the back tells us that this brass image was installed by one Regata in c. 900 AD and his mother, Mālā whose images are placed on a lower level on the pedestal. National Museum, New Delhi.

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*Ill. 1.35* Buddha. Uttar Pradesh, Gilt, 6th century AD., Ht. 39.5 cm., Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

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*Ill. 1.36* Avalokiteśvara. Nālandā, Gilt, 9th century AD. Devapāla Period, Ht. 30 cm., Nalanda Museum.

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*Ill. 1.37* Tārā. Kurkihar. Devapāla period (825-830 AD) Height 32 cm. Tārā is the embodiment of Divine Grace and the feminine counterpart of the Bodhisattva. This is one of the masterpieces amongst the eastern Indian bronzes, well-known for its sheer grace and elegance. Patna Museum.

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*Ill. 1.38* Bodhisattva Loknātha. Kurkihar. Rāmapāla period (1072-1125 AD) Height 23.5 cm. Patna Museum. Lotus-bedecked bejewelled gilt image. A girdle with pearl festoons in the waist, a necklace bracelet, arm-bands with a lion-face ornament and a beaded sacred thread.

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*Ill. 1.39* Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara with Goddesses. Kashmir 980-1003 AD Height 25 cm, Bronze. Represents the flourishing period of Tāntric religion. Srinagar Museum.

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*Ill. 1.40* Mañjuśrī. Western Tibet. 12.5 cm on lion and base. While the body of the deity assays 65.5%. Cu, 30.4% Zn and only 0.25% As, the lion assays 76% Cu, 13.9% Zn and 6.80% As.

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The base 90.1% Cu, 0.4% Zn and 7.40% As; the surface contains even higher percentage of As (14.0%) on account of inverse seggregation and renders ‘silvery’ whiteness to the base supporting a ‘golden’ statue. (Courtesy: Mrs. Susan La Niece of the British Museum.)

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*Ill. 1.41* Yaśodā and Kṛṣṇa. Karnataka; Vijayanagar period; circa 14th century; copper, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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*Ill. 1.42* Lakṣaṇā Devī. Brahmaur, situated in the Chamba area (south of Kashmir), valley of the Buddhal, a tributary of the Ravi. The brass image 101.5 cm height is under worship. Dated 700-750 AD. It reminds us of Mahiṣāsurmardinī, a concept which developed during the post-Greek Kuṣāṇa period. The ornaments indicate different traditions mingling into a martial spirit in the Western Himalayas.

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*Ill. 1.43* Maheśvara. Bengal 10th century AD. Height 59.5 cm. With akṣamālā, Kalaśa and trident, flanked by devotees and Gaṇeśa. The seated figure of the Buddha immediately above the head of Śiva indicates a link between the two traditions, Asutosh Museum, Calcutta.