Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 12.djvu/786

762 762 INDIA [INDUSTRIES. universally affected as a mark of wealth. Throughout British Burmah, and also in Assam, silk is the common material of clothing, being made up by the women of the household. In Burmah the bulk of the silk is imported from China, generally in a raw state ; but in Assam it is obtained from two or three varieties of worms, which are generally fed on jungle trees and may be regarded as semi-domesticated. Bengal is the only part of India where sericulture, or the rearing of the silk-worm proper on mul berry, can be said to flourish. The greater part of the silk is wound in European filatures, and exported in the raw state to Europe. The native supply is either locally con sumed, or sent up the Ganges to the great cities of the North-West. A considerable quantity of raw silk, especially for Bombay consumption, is imported from China. Tasar silk, or that obtained from the cocoons of semi-domesticated worms, does not contribute much to the supply. As com pared with cotton weaving, the manufacture of silk fabrics may be called a town and not a village industry. These fabrics are of two kinds (1) those composed of pure silk, and (2) those with a cotton warp crossed by a woof of silk. Both kinds are often embroidered with gold and silver. The mixed fabrics are known as mashru or sitfi, the latter word, meaning &quot;permitted,&quot; being used because the strict ceremonial law will not allow Mahometans to wear clothing of pure silk. They are largely woven in the towns of the Punjab and Sind, at Agra, at Hyderabad in the Deccan, and at Tanjore and Trichiuopoli. Pure silk fabrics are either of simple texture, or highly ornamented in the form of kinkhabs or brocades. The latter are a specialty of Benares, Murshidabad, Ahmadabad, and Trichinopoli. Printed silks are woven at Surat for the wear of Pars! and Guzerati women. Quite recently mills with steam machinery have been established at Bombay, which weave silk fabrics for the Burmese market, chiefly liingyis, tamains, and patsoes. The silk manufactures exported from India consist almost entirely of the handkerchiefs known as bandannas and corahs, with a small proportion of tasar fabrics. The trade appears to be on the decline, the total exports having decreased from 2,468,052 yards, valued at 238,000, in 1875-76 to 1,481,256 yards, valued at 147,000, in 1877-78. But in 1879 the value had again risen to 195,897; and the returns for 1874-77 were unusually high. Em- Embroidery has already been referred to in the two pre- In-oidery, ceding paragraphs. The groundwork may be either silk, cotton, wool, or leather. The ornament is woven in the loom, or sewn on afterwards with the needle. Muslin is embroidered with silk and gold thread at Dacca, Patna, and Delhi. Sind and Cutch (Kachhch) have special embroideries of coloured silk and gold. Leather-work is embroidered in Guzerat. In some of the historical capitals of the Deccan, such as Gulbargah and Aurangabad, velvet (makhmal) is gorgeously embroidered with gold, to make canopies, umbrellas, and housings for elephants and horses, f &amp;gt;r use on state occasions. Not only the goldsmith, but also the jeweller lends his aid to Indian embroidery. Carpet Carpets and rugs may be classified into those made of weaving cotton and those made of wool. The former, called satranjis and daris, are made chiefly in Bengal and nor thern India, and appear to be an indigenous manufacture. The woollen or pile carpets known as kalin and kalicha are those which have recently attained so much popularity in England, by reason of the low price at which the out turn of the jail manufactories can be placed in the market. The art was probably introduced into India by the Mahometans. The historical seats of the industry are in Kashmir, the Punjab, and Sind, and at Agra, Mfrzapur, Jabalpur, Warangal in the Deccan, Malabar, and Masuli- patam. Velvet carpets are also made at Benares and Murshidabad, and silk pile carpets at Tanjore and Salem. At the London Exhibition of 1851 the finest Indian ruga came from Warangal, the ancient capital of the Andhra dynasty, about 80 miles east of Hyderabad. Their char acteristic feature was the exceedingly fine count of the stitches, about 12,000 to the square foot. &quot;They were also perfectly harmonious in colour, and the only examples in which silk was used with an entirely satisfactory effect &quot; (Bird wood). The price was not less than 10 per square yard. The common rugs, produced in enormous quantities in the jails at Lahore, Jabalpur, Mirzapur, Benares, and Bangalore, sell in England at 7s. 6d. each. Gold and silver and jewels, both from their colour and Jew ir their intrinsic value, have always been the favourite wor material of Oriental ornament. Even the hill tribes of Central India and the Himalayas have developed some skill in hammering silver into brooches and torques. Imitation of knotted grass and leaves seems to be the origin of the simplest and most common form of gold ornament, the early specimens consisting of thick gold wire twisted into bracelets, &c. A second archaic type of decoration is to be found in the chopped gold jewellery of Guzerat. That is made of gold lumps, either solid or hollow, in the form of cubes and octahedrons, strung together on red silk. Of artistic jeweller s work, the best known examples come from Trichinopoli, Cuttack, Delhi, and Kashmir. Throughout southern India the favourite design is that known as swdmi, in which the ornamentation consists of figures of Hindu gods in high relief, either beaten out from the surface or fixed upon it by solder or screws. The hammered repousse silver work of Cutch (Kachhch), though now entirely naturalized, is said to be of Dutch origin. Similar work is done at Lucknow and Dacca. The goldsmith s art contributes largely to embroidery, as has already been mentioned. Gold and silver thread is made by being drawn out under the appli cation of heat. The operation is performed with such nicety that one rupee s worth of silver will make a thread nearly 800 yards long. Before being used in the loom this metallic thread is generally twisted with silk. Precious stones are lavishly used by Indian jewellers, who care less for their purity and commercial value than for the general effect produced by a blaze of splendour. &quot;But nothing can exceed the skill, artistic feeling, and effectiveness with which gems are used in India both in jewellery proper and in the jewelled decoration of arms and jade&quot; (Birdwood). Iron Work. The chief duty of the village smith is, of Iron course, to make the agricultural implements for his fellow- wor. villagers. But in many towns in India, often the sites of former capitals, iron work, especially in the manufacture of arms, still retains a high degree of artistic excellence. Cutlery. The blade of the Indian talwdr or sword is Cut! sometimes marvellously watered, and engraved with date an(l - and name, sometimes sculptured in half-relief with hunting al scenes, sometimes shaped along the edge with teeth or notches like a saw. Matchlocks and other firearms are made at several towns in the Punjab and Sind, at Monghyr in Bengal, and at Vizianagaram in Madras. Chain armour, fine as lacework and said to be of Persian origin, is still manufactured in Kashmir, Bajputana, and Cutch (Kachhch). Ahmadnagar in Bombay is famous for its spear-heads. Both firearms and swords are often dama scened in gold, and covered with precious stones. In fact, the characteristic of Indian arms, as opposed to those of other Oriental countries, is the elaborate goldwork hammered or cut upon them and the unsparing use of gems. Dama scening on iron and steel, known as kuft, is chiefly practised in Kashmir, and at Guzerat and Sialkot in the Punjab. Damascening in silver, which is chiefly done upon bronze,