96 



surfaces of the section are now ground down upon a fine 

 grained sandstone slab reputed to come from Mirzapore 

 near Benares. This stone is not unHke the small grave 

 stones used by Muhammadans in some districts ; it 

 measures usually i6" x 8". 



A typical compound bangle made at Haragash in 

 Rangpur District in considerable quantity has the outer 

 face of each section formed of two planes meeting 

 medially at an obtuse angle. The original form of the 

 working ring in transverse section being rectangular, 

 considerable labour is required to rub down the outer 

 face of each ring to the requisite pattern owing to the 

 crude form of the tool used ; the work is simple and with 

 an abundant supply of cheap labour, employers feel no 

 need to seek for improved methods. For grinding the 

 outer face of bangles to this pattern workers receive 

 Re. I per loo. 



More highly finished bangles necessitate decoration 

 by means of carving, drilling, polishing and lacquering. 

 For carving, small tenon saws, and files are used ; prefer- 

 ence is given to the former whenever possible as they are 

 more flexible, expeditious and durable than files. The 

 greater part of patterns composed of straight lines and 

 grooves are graved in this way by a small saw of the 

 pattern shown in figs, i and 2, pi. IX. The edge is of the 

 same minutely dentate form as in the two-handled shell- 

 saws, and is sharpened in similar manner by means of a 

 chisel-edged hammer. An ornamentation frequent on 

 common bangles for country-women is where a V-shaped 

 groove passes circumferentially around it. This is pro- 

 duced by two cuts made by this saw, finished off by 

 filinof ; when this oroove is made in bano-les where the 

 outer face has in addition to be first ground to an obtuse 

 circumferential angle, the worker in one factory visited 

 was paid at the rate of Rs. 4 per 100 bangles for these 

 two operations. 



The rest used by bangle carvers to support the 

 working sections exhibits some variation in style accord- 

 ing to locality. In Dacca a primitive-looking tripod of 

 three thin sticks is employed, two short, the third long. 

 The two former are lashed together in inverted V-form, 

 in such way that a twisted bridge of string connects the 

 two near the apex thus, A. Through the opening thus 



