12- Indian ftorest Records. [Vol. Vt 
When the thitsi has sufficiently hardened, but before it is quite dry, 
the craftsman proceeds to paint the design on the box, basket, table or 
whatever is to be ornamented. The paint used is made from finely 
powdered sulphide of arsenic moistened with water, to which a little 
gum arabic has been added to make it adhere to the thitsi. The design 
thus painted is the negative of the design, only those parts being painted 
where no gilding is required. This outline must be finished before 
the thitsi is dry. Gold leaf is then applied to this surface and adheres 
all over, but on working with water the gilding comes away with the 
arsenic paint, leaving in these parts the original glossy black, or red, back¬ 
ground. 
Prome used to be the most noted place for this work, but the trade 
is no longer carried on there. There are skilled craftsmen at Pagan 
and Mandalay, and in one or two other places. 
3. Mandalay moulded and ornamental ware. 
Perhaps one of the most interesting arts in which thitsi is employed 
can be seen in Mandalay where articles are lacquered not only in the 
Pagan style already referred to, but are, in addition, embossed with 
moulded work, elaborated in rich scrolls and grotesque animals and 
other floral and animal designs. 
For the moulded work the oleo-resin is thickened with carefully pre¬ 
pared rice husk or cowdung ashes until it attains the consistency of 
putty, the composition of this putty being two parts of thitsi 
to one of foreign matter. A flat stone or board, carefully 
dusted over with fine ashes, is used as the moulding table. The 
thitsi is then moulded to the required shape with the hands, which are 
kept greased with oil to prevent the putty adhering to the fingers. The 
only tool used by the craftsman in shaping his putty is a small curved 
knife of buffalo-horn. The shaping of the main outlines and the cutting of 
deep lines to represent the veins of foliage is done with this instrument, 
but the delicate leaves and curving tendrils are formed by the deft 
fingers of the caftsman. When finished, each small piece is lifted from the 
moulding board and transformed to a surface freshly painted with thitsi 
to which it adheres. It is then varnished once with a thin coat of the 
best thitsi and put in a cellar to dry. In this way foliage, animals, 
human beings and mythical figures are represented with extraordinary 
delicacy, but it is in foliage that the craftsman especially excels. 
The designs include certain patterns standardised by custom and 
recognised as readily as any classic order at home. The determining 
feature in a design is, however, not the type, as we might speak of an 
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