Ball — On Zinc and Zinc Ores. 325 



An analysis by the late Dr. "Walter Flight 1 affords some inter- 

 esting information of one manufacture in which zinc is largely used. 

 He says that the well-known " Bidri " ware of Beder, in Hyderabad, 

 consists of a metal into which plates of silver about the thickness 

 of writing-paper are pressed into, the undercut grooves forming the 

 pattern. The two metals adhere, and are then finely polished. 

 The materials forming, I. a box, and II. a bottle, gave the follow- 

 ing results : — 



These proportions seem to suggest a doubt as to the material 

 "being a specially prepared alloy. It might, perhaps, result from 

 the reduction of an ore of zinc containing the other metals in 

 combination. The presence of these metals would account for the 

 surface- colouring, which is brought out probably by vegetable 

 acids. Whence the alloy comes is not known ; but even if imported 

 now, it is not improbable that the art of making the ware was dis- 

 covered when a local source was known. 



In Colonel Yule's Glossary of Anglo-Indian Words this "bidri" 

 alloy is described as being a kind of pewter, containing one-fourth 

 of copper ; and he adds that a short description of the manufacture 

 is given by Dr. Greorge Smith, in the Madras Lit. Soc. Journal, 

 N. S., i., pp. 81-84, and that the ware was first described by 

 Heyne in 1813. Possibly one or other of these authors, whom I 

 -cannot now refer to, may give some information as to the source 

 from whence the metal was obtained; but that the true " Bidri" 

 of to-day, of which we have examples here in the Museum, con- 

 sists mainly of zinc cannot be doubted. 



It has been suggested by General Cunningham 3 that the alloy 

 of copper and nickel of which the Bactrian coins, found so abun- 

 dantly in the Punjaub, were made, was imported from China. He 



Journal of the Chemical Society, April, 1882. 

 Numismatic Chronicle, 1873 (3), 13, N. S., No. li. p. 187. 



