History of Metal in India
Astonishing and incredulous have been the findings of archaeological
investigations into India’s ancient past. Her metallurgical skills were well
past embrionic stages five millenia back. The dancing girl, a brass artefact,
amulets, a crucible with slag remnants, several large kilns, and assorted metal
tools (including saws and drill bits) recovered from the Indus Valley
Civilisation at Mohanjo Daro, Lothal and Harappa are the clearest testimony of
the knowledge of high temperature smelting , casting and forging, of metals such
as copper, lead, tin, gold and silver and its precision shaping and finishing.
Iron found its introduction later around 1000 BCE and, finds mention in several texts – ayas (iron) in the Arthavaveda; lohityas (copper) and krishnayas (iron) in the Brahmanas and Upanishads. From around this age have been unearthed iron implements such as flat iron axes, sickles, spades, daggers, swords, knives, chisels, tripods, horse-bits, frying pans, ladles and even bangles from across various sites all over India. Further refinements in metal techniques, the purification of their ores through use of plant ash, charcoal and chaff, as well as the production of alloys is detailed in Kautilya’s ‘Arthashastra’ (c. 400BCE). There are several other texts Varahamihira’s ‘Khargalakshanam’ (c. 500CE) on steel hardening; Vrinda discussed the process of obtaining iron oxides; and the ‘Rasaratnasamuchchaya’ texts that describe several grades and qualities of iron alloys.
The evolution of metallurgical technology finds expression in several well preserved iron structures
… the pillar twenty four feet tall, with a diameter varying from sixteen inches to twelve inches and weighing six tonnes at Kutb Minar (Delhi, c. 310 CE) defies rust to this day. A chemical analysis of the pillar shows a complex and unique composition of elements low in sulfur and manganese which is believed to account for its properties.
… pillar at Dhar (Indore, c.400 CE) fifty feet in height with a cross section of 104 square inches and weighing seven tonnes, built during the reign of Chandragupta Vikramidtya
… twenty nine beams at Konark Sun temple (near Puri, c. 1240 CE); the largest among them measures thirty six feet with a cross section eleven inch square.
… the 232 beams of the twelfth century Gundicha Bedi Temple (Puri, c. 1100 CE). The longest beam is 17 feet in length, and cross-sections of the beams vary from 6 inches by 4 inches to 5 inches by 5 inches.
… a slender iron pillar near the Mookambika temple (Mangalore) stands unrusted despite the severe climatic conditions that it is subjected to
Equally well know was Seringapatnam (Karnataka, c.1700 CE) for its steel wires for musical instruments, when other countries had to use gut; Kerala (Aranmula) for its highly reflective metal mirror; the Konasamudram region (Andhra Pradesh ) famous for producing the world renowned Wootz steel (‘ukku’ in Telugu, meaning steel) - the raw material for King Saladin's fabled Damascus Sword. It is only recently (c. 2000 CE) that western science has been able to unravel the process for duplicating the lost art of Wootz steel.
Another noteworthy aspect of metallurgy applies to bronze metal icons, that were produced prolifically under the patronage of the Cholas. There is widespread belief that these could absorb the charged energy of the Divine and so used extensively for rituals.
Metal therefore found application in India primarily in utilitarian applications such as tools, vessals and icons which in due course was overlaid with the creative instinct of decorative art. Thus grew a variety of distinctive creations unique to the country.