INDIAN LAC WARE 



TACHARDIA 



LA 



. I 



. ,..;. 



THE USES OF LAC. 



Lac enters into the agricultural, commercial, artistic, manufa 



feeling* an.i 



hardly appreciated by th Axwteix 



mnmties, m the aricult ural and forest tracts, is made more tolerabl* through the 



ini-ome leri\ i-d from t he collect i..ii I. \itry village has iU 



Oarpenter, <-.u-turiu r ht. turner and * 



*ome form or other e\erv day ..f tlieir h\e. I l.-focU arc 



plumed up and concealed by crude lar, and the surfaces are uniformly varnished 



loured with lac win-re colour is desired < . ... i . . takes the 



pla.e .>f the oil paint of Europe. The silver and coppersmiths employ it as a 



i-.-d upon which to hammer out or pun -h certain of their ware* 



lac, coloured ornamentation- are i p par and hra*4 ware*, as 



also n i\. ry. l.a|iidariee construct grindstones of the saiii' :.! with 



-.m.l and with it cement blade to halt m knives and swords (p. ' 

 l.ookl. m. !.-r-. and makers of smoking pipes all need lac as a varnish or a stiffening 

 material. Jewellers load hollow gold and silver ornaments with it. or fix the 

 Atones in these by its means. The makers of the humbler personal ornaments 

 prepare most of their wares almost entirely of lac. Indeed 

 that one of the very earliest utilisations of lao wae this very pr-j.ur 

 jewellery. Lastly, in the hands of the lac-turner and toy-maker lac i* supreme. 

 But let it be here observed it is desirable to call th.~ and to reserve 



lacquer for the art practised in Burma and .lapan, where a vegetable oleo-resin 

 is the chief material, not the animal resin-lac. 



The turner (kharddi) with his lathe is met with in every village of India, and Turnery 

 has an assured position in the community. He prepares toys, nests of boxes, 

 bed-posts, pdnddiui, hukka mouthpieces, and decorates agricultural and other im- 

 plements, etc., etc. The pigments employed are orpimcnt, sulphur, white lead, 

 red mercury, Prussian blue, lamp-black and indigo. Recent: r, aniline 



dyes have been much used, with the result that the delicate ;; lours have 



almost disappeared and the articles made at the present day fade and tarnish 

 to such an extent as to render them no more desirable ornaments. Metallic 

 results are produced by mixing the lac with powder. .. ith powdered 



tinfoil, with imitation gold leaf, or with an amalgam of mercury, lead and tin. 

 These metallic materials, if used in large particles, give a quaint 

 appearance and simulate the grain of stone, thus often producing a rich effect. 



In the preparation of coloured lac, shell-lac is melted over the fire until it be- 

 comes plastic. It is then placed on a stone and a small qu.mtitv of pigment 

 (previously dissolved in water or absorbed by oil) is deposited within a 1. 

 formed on the surface of the lac. This is closed in and the lac hammered, then 

 pulled out with the hands, doubled up, hammered, and pulled out ir:i: 

 again, until the colour becomes uniformly intermixed. The hamm. 

 municates heat so that the mixture gradually assumes the consisted 

 rubber. The coloured lac is then formed into sticks the LI . thickness 



of lead pencils, or thicker as may be desired. These sticks of sealing-wax, as 

 they may be called, are known as batti* and are the form in which both the lac and 

 pigment are applied to woodwork. After the article has been prepare, i 

 smoothed, a batti is pressed against it as it revolves on the lathe. 

 generated melts the lac and thus colours the wood irregularly. The colour i- 

 diffused by a small piece of hard wood pressed firmly on the revolving article. 

 Lastly, a cotton rag, dipped in sweet oil (preferably Scai> 

 to the revolving article, and this imparts a lasting polish to the lac ei. 

 Obviously, therefore, the first conception in lac ornamentation must be a direct 

 adaptation to a revolving object, hence the articles are either uniformly coloured 

 in one shade or are ornamented by rings and bands of different colours. In the 

 higher nights of lac-turnery and in the metal and ivory orn 



however, a diversity and richness in effect are produced that have to be seen to 

 be fully appreciated. The chief types of this work are designated : 



1. Plain ornamentation. 5. Painted Ornamentation. 



2. Abri or Cloud Work. 6. Tinfoil Ornamentation. 



:!. Atiahi or Fire Work. 7. Lac Orna.: tal War*. 



4. Xakshi or Pattern Work. 8. Lac Ornamental ion 



9 Value of Lac in Inhv 



For timbers suitable for turnery and lac-work see Bozos (Boxwood ffVMMMwX 

 p. 190. 



1063 



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bated by 



Method 



: - . . vrv 



