gems, beads, agate, carnelian, lapidary arts, cutting, Cambay, India, Khambhat, Indian lapidary, Sindh, glyptic, engraved gems

The decoration of ancient carnelian beads with white and sometimes black designs is noteworthy, as it clearly required considerable skill. Even more striking is the wide geographical distribution of these beads, which have been found in India, Mesopotamia, and Russia—appearing as early as the Third Millennium B.C. in the first two regions. This prompted an investigation into whether the technique still survives today. Reliable sources indicate that such decorated carnelian beads are still produced in Persia, though the author has not personally visited the country. In India, three places were mentioned: Delhi, Cambay (in western India), and Sehwan in Sindh. However, it appears the practice has ceased in Cambay and Sindh, and there is no evidence it persists in Delhi, although carnelian is still cut there to a diminishing degree due to declining demand. Fortunately, the author learned the method from an elderly man named Sahebdino of Sehwan, Sindh, in November 1930, through Mr. N. G. Majumdar of the Archaeological Survey of India. Sahebdino, who learned the technique from his father, Muhammed Morial, at the age of 9 or 10, is now over 70 and had not practiced the craft for 55 years due to lack of demand. He noted that besides himself, only one other man in Hyderabad, Sindh, who has since died, knew the process—leaving only Sahebdino and his son as the last bearers of this knowledge in Sindh.