Natural resin widely used as a picture varnish and as an additive to oil paint (see Resin, §1). It is obtained from several species of tree growing in South-east Asia. Dammar becomes yellow with age but is less prone to surface disfigurement than mastic, which it gradually superseded during the 19th century....
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Dammar
Rupert Featherstone
Article
Lotus
Eva Wilson
Term for two distinct decorative motifs based on types of water-lily; one originated in Egypt, the other in India. Lotus motifs in Egypt occur from the beginning of the Dynastic period c. 3000
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Satī and hero stones
Ajay Dandekar
Category of commemorative monuments found throughout the Indian subcontinent. Satī stones (satīkals) were erected as memorials to women who committed suicide following their husbands’ deaths, while hero stones (vīragals) commemorate men who died under such circumstances as a battle, a cattle raid or the defence of their villages from bands of raiders. Early medieval Kannada literature recognized five events for which heroes were honoured: a cattle raid; resisting an assault on the modesty of women; extending help to distressed relatives; acting on the orders of their masters; and defending their land.
The study of satī and hero stones is a relatively recent phenomenon. A seminar held in Madras in 1973 was the result of an intensive survey of hero stones conducted by the epigraphy department of the state of Tamil Nadu and thus concentrated on the epigraphic content rather than the form of the stones. In ...
Article
Wind catcher
Susan Roaf
[Arab. bādahanj, malqaf; Pers. bādgīr]
Traditional form of natural ventilation and air-conditioning built on houses throughout the Middle East from North Africa to Pakistan. Constructed at least since the 2nd millennium