LIME 



CALCIUM SULPHATE 



PRODUCTION AND TRADE 



Casting and 

 Moulding. 



SMft-mosaics. as a kind of mosaic, and from the fact of pieces of glass (shishah) being used, 

 has come to be spoken of as shish-mosaic. The famous Shish-mahal 

 (the Palace of Glass) at Agra, the Shish-mahal at Lahore, and the Shish- 

 mahal in the ruined city of Amber (near Jaipur) are perhaps the best 

 examples of this class of work. Mr. L. Kipling very truly says, " The effect 

 of the shish or mirror mosaic, though brilliant, narrowly escapes the 

 charge of vulgarity," so that it is not much to be regretted that the art 

 may be said to be hardly practised at the present day. [Of. Plaster of 

 Paris work in Ind. Art at Delhi, 1903, 95-6.] 



While it would thus seem that certain uses of plaster of Paris have 

 been well known to the Natives of India for a considerable period at all 

 events, a knowledge in the art of casting figures, ornaments and toys in 

 that material is of comparatively recent date, and originated with the 

 modern Schools of Art. While that is so, it is surprising to learn 

 from Stein (Ancient Khotan, 244, etc.) that the whole of the stucco 

 work discovered by him consisted very largely of plaster of Paris. 

 Moreover, he tells us that the figures, idols, etc., had in many instances 

 been moulded and elaborations accomplished in the form of extra 

 figures, etc., by a process of applique. Grooves had been made on 

 the plaster background to allow of the attachment of these extra 

 mouldings, which were finally fused into their positions by liquid plaster. 

 Since plaster of Paris moulding is quite modern in India proper, th- 

 Ancient Khotan. ancient people of Khotan must have either discovered that art spontanee 

 ously or learned of it through their dealings with other than Indian- 

 races (see p. 713). So late as 1885, while engaged supervising the 

 preparation of life-sized statues or models of ethnological subjects 

 that were required for the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, I experienced 

 the greatest possible difficulty in inducing the Krishnagar modellers 

 to substitute piaster of Paris for clay. I procured a supply of gypsum 

 from the Salt Range, had it fired in Calcutta, and found that it 

 yielded a most excellent modelling plaster, and at a cheaper rate than 

 I could purchase the imported article, which alone had been previously 

 procurable in Calcutta. But my clay-modellers struck work, and I 

 had to import others from Lucknow, and thus successfully threaten them 

 with dismissal, before I could induce the Krishnagar men to resume 

 operations. I mention this circumstance as showing the quality of the 

 Indian plaster of Paris and its recent use in castings. 



Alabaster, where met with, is largely utilised in the manufacture of 

 ornaments and toys. The dark-green form procured from Garhwal 

 is regularly made into elegant cups and saucers and even large bowls 

 that are much admired by the richer Native gentlemen of Northern 

 India. The same material, drawn from various sources, is to some 

 extent utilised by the stone-carvers in Agra and other centres of that 

 industry. \Cf. Blount and Bloxam, Chem. for Engin. and Manuf., 

 1900, 131-2.] 



TRADE IN LIMB, MARBLE, ETC. With a country that possesses 

 so many rich deposits of lime and marble, it is surprising to read of the large 

 foreign imports that regularly take place. In the Calcutta press may be 

 seen, almost daily, advertisements of dealers prepared to supply the 

 " Best Italian Carrara Marbles " and " Best Belgian Jet Black Marbles" 

 (Journ. Soc. Arts, 1901). So again, it is not uncommon to find mention 

 of the coloured marbles of Montarrenti, Montalcino and Caldana, which 



718 



Krishnagar 

 Modellers. 



Alabaster. 



Trade. 



Marble. 



