178 Some Account of the Lacquered [May, 



At the end of three more days the cup was fixed to the lathe, and 

 the inside made smooth and even with a kind of sandstone, called ky- 

 ouk-pyen-gwe, and a little water ; then with a rag, and a little fine pow- 

 dered charcoal of teak- wood and water, and lastly with a moist piece 

 of cloth. When perfectly dry in the sun, a coat of plain theet-tsee of 

 the best kind, or theet-tsee ayoung-dei^ was put on in the inside with 

 the finger. This was done in the sun, to which the cup was afterwards 

 exposed for about a quarter of an hour. The workmen seem to prefer 

 always to use the varnish in the sun. Besides the leyouk-pyeti-gzce, 

 which is the same kind of stone as that on which the Burmese grind 

 sandal-wood to rub on their bodies, there is a stone of a finer grain 

 sometimes used, called shzce gan-gyouk, from the circumstance, I am 

 told, of gilders using it to polish the articles they desire to gild. 



At the end of four more days, the cup was fixed to the lathe, and 

 the outside was treated in exactly the same manner as the inside had 

 been on the preceding day, ground smooth, and covered with a coat of 

 fine theet-tsee. 



At the end of five or six more days, for the varnish did not dry suf- 

 ficiently before that time, a second coat of the fine varnish, or theet-tsee 

 ayoung-deriy was put on the outside and inside of the cup. 



Before applying a coat of vermilion the cup was fixed to the lathe, 

 and the polish of the two fine coats of theet-tsee was removed by turn- 

 ing the cup against the stone kyouk-pyen-gwe only, and afterwards 

 against some bran and water pressed upon it with the left hand. The 

 object of this operation, as well as that of grinding with some powdered 

 teak-wood charcoal and water with a rag, was to remove the transparent 

 effect of the fine theet-tsee before the polishing powder above describ- 

 ed, engyen kyouk-tshowe-amhoun, was used. In doing which, the 

 cup was turned against the palm of the left hand, smeared with a little 

 of the powder. 



In gilding, the wood-work is primed two or three times with the 

 ayo-bya or phwe-by a thayo, and rubbed quite smooth and even with 

 the stone and water, before the gold leaf is put on, which is done, as 

 Dr. Wallich describes, " by besmearing the surface very thinly with the 

 varnish, and then immediately applying the gold leaf." The prim- 

 ing is, of course, here necessary to fill up the cavities in the wood 

 and produce an equal surface before the gold leaf is put on. A little 

 piece of cotton is dipped in the varnish, and before the surface is dry, 

 the gold leaf is put on with the thumb and finger, and gently 

 smoothed over with another clean piece of cotton. The gilders 

 also use a brush of the thickness of a man's thumb, with which 



