Zar-Koft
This article is an extract from
THE TRIBES and CASTES of BENGAL. Ethnographic Glossary. Printed at the Bengal Secretariat Press. 1891. . |
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Zar-Koft
In accordance with the minute subdivision of labour in the East, the maker of gold and silver foil is distinct from the Koft-gar or inlayer of metals, the latter being regarded as the more respectable calling.
Silver or gold foil is prepared as follows: A rupee-weight of silver is drawn into a wire a yard long; it is then beaten flat cut into lengths, and put between the folds of a skin,1 and with an iron mallet, weighing about four pounds, the metal is hammered into as fine a leaf as possible. Gold-leaf thus prepared is sold to Kabirajs for medical purposes, and to the Koft-gar for his particular trade.
1 The skin, brought from Umritsur, is probably that of the hare, or musk-deer.
