Bati—On Some Indian Brass Castings. 207 
in highly refractory crucibles having a capacity of a pint or less ; with 
this metal some fragments of Cassia wood and one or two leaves of 
a Convolvulus or Zpomea, according to some authorities—of an Ascle- 
piad called Calatropis gigantea, according to others—were included, 
and the whole well heated in the furnace. On opening the crucible, 
after it had for several hours been subjected to great heat in a strong 
blast, the metal, fused into a button, was found at the bottom, and, 
after tempering, it became easily malleable. The introduction of 
vegetable matter into the crucible provides the carbon necessary in 
the conversion of wrought iron into steel; but whether there is any 
particular virtue in the leaves of the species employed is not known. 
So far as I know, true bronze is not manufactured in India, 
though it possibly may be in Burmah. The metal workmanship of 
India includes nothing which resembles the bronzes of Japan. 
Various compounds of zinc and copper are, however, widely used 
im the manufacture of domestic and ornamental articles, and for these 
purposes there are enormous annual imports of these metals into India, 
as the local production at present only supplies a fraction of the re- 
quirements. 
The various proportional mixtures of copper and zinc bear a 
variety of different names; they are melted in rudely-constructed 
furnaces, which are made simply out of clay often to be procured close 
to the brassfounder’s house, where also the material for his moulds is 
generally obtainable. The preparation of a mould for a solid casting 
is a comparatively simple affair; but the objects before us are hollow 
castings, and the device adopted in the preparation of moulds for 
them is remarkably ingenious. 
Having prepared a mass of clay with the form of the proposed 
intended cavity, the operator dips it repeatedly into molten bees’ wax 
till it becomes thickly caked over. Inthe wax the proposed design 
is then sculptured, and the whole is enveloped in an outer casing 
made of the moulding-clay. The molten metal is then poured into 
the mould, and it speedily melts and occupies the place of the wax 
throughout all its extent. When it is set, the outer mould is broken 
off, and the inner is extracted from the interior of the metal. 
The majority of these castings represent domestic animals and a 
few familiar birds; but one of them has the form of the fruit of 
the mango. They are not intended for toys, as might be supposed 
from their appearance, but for offerings at shrines, and they are 
placed round altars in temples, and sometimes in private houses. 
I have never seen such offerings openly exposed near road-side 
altars ; but I have many a time come across spots in the jungle, gene- 
rally under the shade of the sacred Banyan (f%cus indica) or Pipal (£. 
religiosa) trees, where there were piles of rudely-shapen figures of 
baked clay, resembling in shape those of brass. 
Poor people are unable to present propitiatory offerings of ele- 
phants, camels, and horses, such as are given by wealthy Rajas, to 
R. I. A. PROC., VOL. II., SER. Il.—POL, LIT. AND ANTIQ. 2K 
