Cosmetics, Costumes and Ornaments in Ancient India
by Remadevi. O. | 2009 | 54,177 words
This page relates ‘Materials (c): Iron and Lead’ of the study on cosmetics, costumes and ornaments of ancient India based on Sanskrit sources. Chapter one deals with cosmetics and methods of enhancing beauty; Chapter two deals with costumes, garments and dresses; Chapter three deals with ornaments for humans and animals. Each chapter deals with their respective materials, types, preparation and trade, as prevalent in ancient Indian society.
1.1. Materials (c): Iron and Lead
Iron
Iron was a metal of people with ordinary means. Reference to iron ornaments is rare in our literature. However in Harṣacarita[1], an ascetic named Śaivācārya is described as wearing conch shells stringed in an iron ring. Kauṭilya[2] refers to iron ore; its colour is described as reddish. P.C Ray[3] talks about the different varieties of iron on the basis of their colour and other features. He also speaks of iron pyrites and the ‘killing’ process of iron. It was a common belief that iron is a dispeller of all sorts of fears.
Lead
In Atharvaveda[4] lead is mentioned as a metal, which has the power to drive out all sorts of sorcery. Because of this, lead was used for ornament making. In Kuṭṭanīmata[5] we have reference to an earring made out of lead sheets.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Harṣacarita, p.58
[2]:
II.12.16
[3]:
AHHC, pp.29, 33, 47, 55, 56, 59, 62, 63, 108, 110, 111,155
[4]:
X.45
[5]:
v.65