NEPAL: A LITTLE-KNOWN KINGDOM 



271 



THE MARKET-PLACE OF KHATMANDU 



The present capital is the Chicago of Nepal. It lacks the mellow age of Bhatgaon and 

 Patan : hut it is more colorful, busier, and more modern. It has been described as a "medley 

 of tumbled wood-carving, brass grotesques sprawling over uneven pavements, quaint over- 

 shadowing roofs surmounting rich red brickwork, and ever and about a moving variegated 

 crowd, the whole combination in its confusion of decoration, buildings, and people presenting 

 a scene of unrivaled orientalism." 



rubbed over with wet clay, leaving a thin 

 layer on the surface. On this the pattern 

 is drawn or scratched and then hammered 

 with various home-made instruments till 

 the required relief is obtained. If the 

 relief is to be high, the filling is removed 

 from the metal and the process continued 

 on the back, again turned, and the final 

 finish put on. When gilding is required, 

 an amalgam of gold and quicksilver is 

 placed on the baser metal. The quick- 

 silver is burned off and the deposit of 

 gold is burnished with an agate. 



The Nepalese combinations of copper 

 or brass with silver are very fine, the 

 salient parts in the silver often being 

 picked out with gold. 



PREPARING MODELS FOR METAL CASTING 



In the work of casting, a model is made 

 of wax and first thickly coated with a 

 mixture of clay, cow dung, and charcoal. 

 When the first coating is dry a second 



coating of the same substance, mixed 

 with chopped straw, is applied, to give 

 the required stability. The wax is then 

 melted out and when the mold is per- 

 fectly dry the molten metal is run in. 

 Some very excellent results are obtained, 

 the detail and delicacy of pattern being 

 wonderful. These methods are used for 

 building ornamentation and altar utensils 

 as well as for articles for domestic use. 



Some excellent weapons, especially the 

 kukri, a knife worn universally by the 

 Nepalese, are made, and the better speci- 

 mens are often chased and inlaid with 

 gold. They also make good koras. or 

 sacrificial knives. 



Nepalese wood-carving is extraordi- 

 narily beautiful and ornate. Every scrap 

 of wood is carved in some manner ; the 

 struts upholding the eaves of shrines rep- 

 resent satyrs and dragons, while windows 

 and doors are examples of the most elab- 

 orate and minute workmanship of every 



