Page:The Industrial Arts of India.djvu/44

 known (Plate 1 6) f of silver encrusted on brown waxy copper. In Plate 15 the bold form of the Iota is well brought out by the disposition of the diaper pattern round the body of the vessel. Plate 17 is of a little copper Iota elegantly encrusted with silver, Plate 18 is an. illustration of Madras hammered work in copper. Nothing could be more effectual than the simple architectural decoration of this little Iota t which is one of Colonel Michael's admirable selections. The ornamentation of the dish represented in Plate 19 is excessive, but is skilfully relieved by the fluted pattern of the cove. All these illus- trations are of Tanjore work. Among the Prince of Wales 1 Indian presents is a collection of little brass figures from Vizagapatagq which for skilful modelling, finish, and a certain irresistible grotesqueness of expression, are the finest I have ever seen. 1 have been permitted to add engravings of seven of them [Plates 20 to 26], which graphically illustrate the whole gamut of military swagger in man and beast Plate 27 is a representation of a Madura temple lamp. The temple bells of India are celebrated for the depth and purity of their note, and those of Madras are distinguished above all others by their stately architectural forms. The handles are generally crowned with a group of the Puranic gods, sculptured in full relief. The sacrificial vases also are often very beautifully designed and wrought. There is a very fine one in the India Museum [Plate 28] from some temple of Vishnu, in Madras. The vase figured in Plate 29 is said to be from Nipal, and is possibly a tea-pot.

We have seen that beside ordinary brass, the Hindus use an alloy of copper mixed with gold, like the ancient ass Cor in- f Aium. The so-called dark “bronzes:” of India, are not of true bronze, that is a mixture of copper and tin, which the Hindus hold to be impure, but of copper without alloy.