Evening star., 1901-11-23
STONE MAsONs Of INDIA.
The Art of Cutting and POiishin in 4
Highly Developed.

From the Stone Trades Journal.
Long centuries before the western world
had awakened at the trumpet call of civill-
zation-when the ancient empires of Greece
and Rome were yet unknown, when the
stones that form the pyramids were still
embedded in the granite hills of Egypt, the
deft fingers of Indian workmen were hew-
ing with marvellous skill and deXterity mas
sive blocks of eastern granite. Here, in the
cradle of the human race, the arts of gram
ite cutting and polishing first We're master
ed, and even yet human ingenuity has i'm
proved but little the handiwork of those
ancient craftsmen So wonderful was their
skill that many centuries afterWard, when
the older civilizations had passed away, not
only the native tribesmen, but visitors from
foreign lands regarded those granite tenn
pies and statues the handiwork of the
gods. In the early years of the Christian
era Fa Han, a Christian pilgrim, visited
India I'm the city, he says, lis the royal
palace the different parts of which ASoka
commissioned the genii to construct by pill
ing up the stones. The walls doorways and
the sculptured designs are no human work. :"
Another Christian pilgrim of the same pc
riod-Houen Ts-ang-describes not without
touch of awe, the sculptured stones of the
land, and also what can only have been a
pillar of polished granite. He saw, he says,
"a stone pillar, bright and shining q
mirror, it's surface gistening and smooth as
ice"
Oldest of all those ancient buildings are
fortreSseS and pagoddS. The earlier pago-
Gas, however, were not the ''stone-built
towers and mansions with a thousand pill
lars mentioned in the Rig Veda, but un-
derground temples heWn from the solid
rock, under the shadow of some lofty east
mountain. To this period (and perhaps
most ancient of alb belongs the famous pa
CODA in the Island of Elephante, near Bonn
bay. Halfway toward the mountain top Il
D.in h.,l1
of the heart of the mountain. Massive pill
lars, finely carved, are left here and there
at regular intervals for the purpose of sup
porting the roof ard the weight of the great
nil above 1.-THE whole forming a striking
picture of rugged strength and beauty
CoeVal with those underground temples are
the famous fortreSSeS of DoWlet a bad and
Asseergur, two gigantic granite strongholds
situated SO adVantaseouslg that even in
these latter days 1t would be mean feat
of arms to capture them by force. DIR. Ken
nedy, who has givenea lifetime study to
tnese matters, says the only tools the Hin
200 artisan used in those gigantic under
taklngs were a small chsel and an iron
mallet. The chisel tapered to fine round
point, and the face of the malet had a
deep hollow, lined with lead. with such
simple TOOLS he adds, they formed, fash
Toned and scooped the granite rock which
forms the tremendous fortress of Dowleta-
bad, and eXcavated the wonderful caverns
OF Flora, for it seems by no means prob
apie that the Hlndoo stone cutters worked
with any other tools.''
Granite, asates, bookstores and crystals
We're fashioned with such primitive instru-
menus INTO cups and other hollow articles
as delicately shaped as those of the most
plastic porcelain. King Solomon, it will be
remembered, received from the east a ruby
cup containing the elixir of life' So at
ieast runs the legend In forming the cav
ity OF the cup small holes, quarter of an
men In depth, We're first bored all over the
surface with acknowledged drill The
remaining portions around the holes were
then Clipped away and the process repeat
ed time after time, until the desired form
and depth were obtained Infinite labor be-
slowed on every detail chara cterized all the
products of ancient Indian art. With the
Iail Oh the ancient Hindoo kingdoms the
arr ana craft of masonry died gracefully
away. whether it will again be resuscitat-
ea one hesltates to say, yet none the less.
IN centuries yet to come, the architects and
artisahs OF the west will turn with wonder
ana delight to view those enduring monu-
menus or human Industry reared long ages
ago by the builders and scuiptors of the pa-
tient east