History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India, Incorporating the History of Hindu Chemistry by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray c12.45

c12.45

Most of the glaze on the steatite objects found at Mohenjo-daro has disappeared by weathering and very few of them have been found unbroken and whole. They are generally of small size. Some of these were probably used for keeping cosmetics. On examining these articles it is found that the glaze has generally penetrated well into the body both on the inside and outside of the object. In a few cases it was also found that a certain amount of frit was mixed with the paste itself and was also applied to the ware both inside and outside. This undoubtedly strengthens the articles. We thus find that the Indus Valley potters generally used quartz and ground carved steatite as the body material for their glazed pottery.