The ancient industrial arts of India formed two distinct groups. The first included those allied to, and dependent upon, architecture; the second comprise those applied to articles devoted to religious ritual; military weapons and troppings, domestic accessories; and to personal adornment.

The articles of the first group were intended for some fixed and definite position, and the style of their design and the character of their workmanship were dictated by that of the building with which they were incorporated. Those of the second group were movable, and the range of their design was less constricted and their workmanship was more varied. Examples of work in both groups are so numerous, and the arts comprise such a diversity of application, that only a cursory survey can be attempted within the limits of a short review. Although the design and treatment differ in the two groups, the materials used were often the same. These materials cover a very wide range but space only permits of reference to work applied to the four materials upon which the Indian craftsman's skill has been most extensively displayed. These are stone, wood, metal and textiles.

Before dealing separately with each of these materials a few words upon the principal Indian styles are necessary. The two distinctive styles are Hindu and Mahomedan. The former may be termed indigenous, dating as it does from remote antiquity; the latter was a variation of the great Arabian style, which was brought into India in the fourteenth century, and has since developed features essentially Indian in character. The art of both Hindus and Mahomedans is based upon religion and the requirements of religious ritual. The obvious expression of this is shown in the different motifs used for their ornament. In Hindu art all natural forms are accepted and employed for decorative purposes; but in that of the Mahomedans, nearly all natural forms are rejected and forbidden. The basis of Mahomedan decoration is therefore mainly geometrical. In each of them, racial characteristics are strikingly exhibited. The keynote of Hindu work is exuberance, imagination and poetry; that of Mahomedan, reticence, intellect and good taste. The Hindus are lavish, and often undiscriminating, in their employment of ornament; the Mahomedans use more restraint. In fact the two styles may be compared, without straining the analogy, to the Gothic and classic styles in Europe. In both styles the fecundity of ideas and invention in design are marvellous, and the craftsmanship often reaches a very high standard. Hindu art had been subjected throughout the ages to many foreign influences, but the artistic instincts of the people have proved so conservative that, whether these alien ideas came from the east or the west, they have been absorbed, and are now stamped with a definite Indian character. Recognition of this fact alone should relieve the anxiety of those critics who fear that the penetration of Western art and culture into India at the present time will eventually rob Indian art of its national character.

Stone Work.-Carved stone work is the principal form of decoration employed in Hindu temples. In variety and scope it ranges from the massive figures in the Buddhist and Brahminical Cave Temples, and the detached sculpture of the temples of Southern India to the delicately incised reliefs and elaborately fretted ornament of the Jain temples at Mount Abu. A curious fact in relation to Hindu work is that priority of date appears to have no relation to artistic development. It is not possible Medieval craftwork, the regular progressive to trace, as in the case of Greek, Roman and steps from art in its primitive state to its culminating point and its subsequent decay. Styles in India seem to spring into existence fully developed; the earlier examples often exhibiting finer craftsmanship than those of a later date. There can be little doubt that stone carving in India was simply the application of the wood carvers' art to another material. The treatment of stone by the Hindu craftsmen, even in the constructive principles of their buildings, bears a closer resemblance to the practice of the wood-worker than to that of the stone mason. The earlier wooden examples from which the stone buildings and their decorations were derived have long since disappeared, but their influence is apparent. The keynote of Hindu design is rhythmic rather than symmetrical; refinement. In the carving of the human that of their craftsmanship, vigour rather than figure and of animals great power of expressing action is shown, and this spontaneous feeling is preserved despite the greatest elaboration and detail. The industry displayed is amazing. no amount of labour appears to have daunted the Hindu craftsmen in carrying out their huge and intricate schemes of decoration.

The stone carving on Mahomedan buildings except where Hindu carvers have been allowed a free hand, is much more restrained than that on Hindu temples. The fact that geometrical forms were almost exclusively used, dictated lower relief and greater refinement in the carving; while the innate good taste of the designers prompted them to concentrate the ornament upon certain prominent features, where its effect was heightened by the simplicity of the rest of the building. The invention displayed in working out geometrical patterns for work screens, inlay, and other ornamental details appears to be inexhaustible; while wonderful decorative use has been made of Arabic and Persian lettering in panels and their framing. To obtain a rich effect the Hindus relied upon the play of light and shade upon broken surfaces, the Mahomedans to attain the same end used precious materials: veneering the surfaces of their buildings with polished marble which they decorated with patterns of mosaic composed of jade, agate, onyx and other costly stones. Although the art of inlaying and working in hard stones was of Italian origin, it proved to be on eminently suited to the genius of the Indian craftsman; and many wonderful examples of their skill in the form of book rests, tables, thrones, footstools, vases and sword handles are extant to show the height of proficiency they attained. The treatment of precious

stones by Indian jewellers may here be referred to. Sir George Birdwood states that "the Indian jeweller thinks of producing the sumptuous, imposing effect of dazzling variety of rich and brilliant colours and nothing of the purity of his gems." This is true in a general sense and full many a gem of purest ray serene' was utterly ruined by crude cutting and piercIng. But although as early as the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries diamonds and precious stones from the Indian mines were taken to Europe to be cut, many of the finest jewels found their way back to the treasure houses of Indian princes.

Wood Work. With a fine range of timbers suitable for the purpose, wood has played a great part in the construction and decoration of Indian buildings. Unfortunately, most of the ancient wood work has been destroyed by the action of the climate and the teeming insectivorous life of India; and that which escaped these enemies was wiped out by fire and the sword. It is therefore only possible to conjecture the height of artistic development these buildings and their decorations displayed by the copies in stone which have been preserved. Few if any examples of a date earlier than the sixteenth century are to be found. Many of these, and specimens of a later date to be seen in towns and cities throughout the country, are masterpieces of design and craftsmanship. The carved timber fronts and inner courtyards of houses in Ahmedabad, Nasik, and other parts of Western India are notable for their picturesqueness and beauty the structural beams, the overhanging balconies, with their screens and supporting brackets, being carved in a manner which unites richness of effect with good taste and propriety. Of furniture, as the term is now understood, few examples were in use in India before Europeans introduced their own fashions. These were confined to small tables and stools, book rests, clothes chests and screens, the designs of which conformed somewhat closely to the architectural style of the period. Many of these were decorated with inlays of coloured woods, ivory and metal; while in some cases the wooden basis was entirely plated with copper, brass or silver. In Southern India, where close grained sandalwood is grown, jewel cases and boxes are enriched with carving executed with the attention to detail and the finish generally associated with the carving of ivory. Coloured lac was freely used to decorate many articles of furniture, especially those turned on the lathe; and rich colour effects were obtained in this, perhaps the most distinctive and typically Indian development of decoration as applied to woodwork.

Metal Work-With the exception of weaving, the metal working industry employed and still employs the greatest number of artistie craftsmen in India. Copper and brass have always been the two metals most widely used for domestic purposes by Mahomedans and Hindus. The shapes of many of these humble vessels are among the most beautiful to be found In the country. They exhibit that sense of variety and touch of personality which are only given by the work of the human hand; and the shapes are those which grow naturally from the working of the material with the simplest implements. In the technical treatment of

brass and copper Indian craftsmen have shown a taste and skill unsurpassed by those of other nations, except in the department of fine cast. ing. In this, and in the working of gold and silver, a higher standard of technical and constructive exactness has been reached by the metal workers of Europe and Japan. It may be taken as an axiom that, the more beautiful the shape of an article is, and this especially applies to metal work, the less need exists for the decoration of its surface. It is equally true that the highest test of craftsmanship is the production of a perfect article without any decoration. The reason being that the slightest technical fault is apparent on a plain surface, but can be hidden or disguised of one which is covered with ornament. The goldsmiths and silversmiths of India were extremely skilful and industrious, but judged by this test their works often exhibit a lack of care and exactness in the structural portion and a completely satisfactory example of perfectly plain work from the hands of the gold and silversmiths of India is rarely to be met with. Much of the excessive and often inappropriate ornamentation of the articles that they produced owed its application as much to the necessity of hiding defective construction as it did to any purely decorative purpose. For many generations, ornaments of gold and silver were regarded in the light of portable wealth, a practice which naturally made for massiveness. These solid ornaments are most effective and picturesque; and, despite an enormous output of elaborate and delicate work from their hands, the most valuable contribution of the Indian metal workers to the sum total of man's artistic use of the precious metals will probably be found to lie in a certain barbaric note which distinguishes these pieces-a note not present in the craft work of other countries. In the design of Hindu gold and silver ornaments, religious symbols have been extensively used. The ornaments which bedeck the early sculptured figures, and those depicted in the paintings at the Cave Temples of Ajanta are precisely the same in design and use as similar articles made at the present time, thus affording a striking evidence of the inherent conservatism of the Hindu people and its effect upon an industrial art that makes a closer personal appeal than any other.

Textiles.-The textile industry is the widest in extent in India and is that in which her craftsmen have shown their highest achieve ments. Other countries, east and west of India have produced work equal, if not superior, in stone, wood, and metal; but none has ever matched that of her weavers in cotton and wool, or excelled them in the weaving of silken fabrics. Some of the products of the looms of Bengal are marvels of technical skill and perfect taste, while the plum bloom quality of the old Cashmere shawls is an artistic achievement which places them in a class by themselves. Weaving being essentially a process of repetition, was the first to which machinery was applied, and modern science has brought power loom weaving to such a state of perfection that filaments of a substance finer even than those of Dacca, which astonished our ancestors, are now produced in the mills of Lancashire But for beauty of surface and variety of texture no machine-made fabrics have ever equalled

the finest handwork of the ancient weavers of India. Many of the most beautiful varieties of Indian textile work have disappeared, killed by the competition of the power loom; and it is to be feared that under modern conditions they are never likely to be revived. In other branches of art as applied to textiles India does not hold so pre-eminent a position as in that of weaving. The printed silks and calicoes of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries deservedly held a high place in the estimation of Western nations, whose craftsmen learnt many valuable lessons from the technical skill, and artistic taste they display. In embroidery and fine needlework the West and the Far East have more than held their own, while nothing approaching the tapestries made in Europe in the middle ages has been produced in India. The nearest approach to these is in carpets and rugs. This art was introduced from Persia; but Indian craftsmen have never succeeded in equalling the finest work of their instructors either in colour or design.

Modern Conditions.-In the foregoing sketch of the ancient industrial art of India, as applied to the four principal materials employed, only a general indication of its more striking characteristics has been possible. A volume would be required to give a detailed description of any one of them, and would leave many other mino: arts to be considered. All these branches of art came into existence, were developed and flourished in India when social and economic conditions were vastly different from those of the present day. Like similar artistic crafts carried on in Europe up to the end of the eighteenth century, they were executed by hand labour. The processes involved had not been discovered by scientific inquiry, such as is now understood by the phrase, but were the outcome of generations of slowly built up expe rience. We now come to the effect upon them of the changed conditions which have revolu tionised industrial art in Europe during the last century.

The invention of the steam engine, and the application of mechanical power and scientific research to industry in Europe, mark the dividing line between ancient and modern industrial art. Not only on its technical side is this 30, but the effect of these changes has been to alter the character of the work itself and the spirit which animated the craftsmen. In place of the ancient ideal of variety in design and treatment, which meant a limited output, the modern one of uniformity and unlimited output has been substituted. The capitalist has displaced the master craftsman: the orga nised factory, the small workshop; specialisation and division of labour have taken the place of general proficiency among the artisans: the function of the designer has been separated from that of the craftsman; local markets have been extended to serve the whole world, and the skilled handicraftsman has, in a great measure, become a machine-minder. It took about one hundred years of gradual change for the craftsmen of Europe fully to adjust themselves to these altered conditions: and during the greater portion of that period India protected by the diBculties of transport, continued its immemorial practice. Fifty years ago this protective barrier was removed by the

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opening of the Suez Canal, and the handicraf men of India have since been struggling avoid the same fate which overtook those Europe half a century before. With less ti to adapt themselves to the changed conditio the Indian craftsmen have had to meet t competition of European rivals already fu equipped with new and unknown weapor Even before this period of intense competitio observers interested in Indian craftwork h noticed evidences of its deterioration. falling off, both in design and workmanshi was attributed to the conservative pract of the craftsmen; to the gradual loss of forei markets, and to the long period of internal d order which had deprived them of both t patronage of the rulers of an earlier age and t stimulating contact with foreign craftsm who had previously been attracted to t splendid courts at Delhi and Agra. During ti same period, an even greater degradation design had overtaken the craftwork of Europ This was due to entirely different causes namel to the introduction of machinery. Attentio had been so concentrated upon speedy produ tion, mechanical accuracy and commerci organisation that beauty of design had bee almost entirely neglected. This was so forcibl demonstrated at the International Exhibitio of 1851 that efforts were at once made to brin art and industry together once more. School of Art and Museums were founded throughou England and the same system was copied in tentative and timid fashion in India. Th function of these institutions was accurately estimated in England, where the artistic in dustries were already highly organised and were commercially successful, and whose pro ducts were to be found in every market o the world. Their business was to assist these industries by training a body of efficient de signers capable of furnishing the factories with suitable designs, new or old, and in any style to satisfy the requirements of customers in any country. It was never supposed for an instant that a School of Art could lead an industry, In India their function was as completely mis understood as were the causes of the depres sion in Indian craftwork. The schools were not only expected to lead the industries which were living, but to revive those which were moribund, and resurrect those which were dead. In the report of the Indian Industrial Commission the need for some State-aided of of industrial and commercial system ganisation of the industrial arts with an ex panded scheme of technical and artistic instruc tion for the craftsmen has been recognised; and valuable suggestions were made by experts who gave their evidence when the Commission visited the different Provinces. The success of the scheme recommended by the Commission will depend entirely upon the energy with which i is applied, and the practical knowledge and the assistance required by each of the different crafts on the part of those who control it. I in addition, the same financial assistance and encouragement are given by the Imperial and Local Governments to the Indian craftsmen that have been bestowed by their own Gover ment upon the art workers of Japan, industria art in India will quickly emerge from the clou of depression, which has hung over it for a o tury past, into the sunlight of prosperity.