KASHMIR VALLEYS 163 



painting used on it in Persia and introduced from there 

 centuries ago, is now employed for decorating a variety 

 of objects made of a close-grained white wood, and the 

 result is very similar, the varnish, procured by boiling 

 clear copal (sundras) in pure turpentine, being that 

 used for the genuine papier-mache. The artist whose 

 work I was looking at was a well-known worker, 

 and certainly he deserved his reputation. Quite old, 

 his thin, dried-up hands still retained their early 

 steadiness and dexterity, and without measurements 

 or compasses he produced the most intricate and oft- 

 repeated designs with almost mathematical precision; 

 his colouring, too, was very lovely, and his combina- 

 tions of cherry red and green, blue greens and purples, 

 and his use of gold showed the perfection of his art. 

 Few of the Kashmir industries have suffered more than 

 the papier-mache trade from the many visitors who of 

 late years have wandered up to the northern capital 

 for the hot months, and the cheap, quick work, which 

 is chiefly in demand, has ruined the quality. A few, 

 however, still remain who are clever enough to be able 

 to get their own prices, and the one I visited was one 

 of these. It was impossible to hurry him, but each 

 thing finished, whether tiny stamp -box or larger wares, 

 such as blotting-book or card table, was a masterpiece. 

 Many of his patterns were of unknown antiquity the 

 " flower patterns " of Persian origin showing a network 

 of blossoms on a golden ground, the " devil pattern," 

 from mysterious Kabul, with a thousand fiendish 

 figures mixed in inextricable confusion. He was also 

 willing to copy anything that struck him as suitable or 

 pretty sprigs of flowers from a sketch-book, birds, or 

 scrolls from English cards and he was vastly delighted 

 by the present of a painting of a kingfisher, that being 



