I hope this not off topic, but I feel there's more chance of someone in =
this
group knowing what this is than elsewhere. By way of
obeisance/defense may I say that I have recently done a website for a =
real
jeweler and gemologist and it was a pleasure
I am a serious collector and student of the visual arts of S.E. Asia, =
and for
several years have been trying to identify a black
substance used in making Buddhist amulets (usually small, usually Buddha =
images,
sometimes Sangkajai [fat, Buddha's disciple],
sometimes amulets of Cambodian secondary Buddhist/animist themes =
[oophakhoot]).
A very frequent use of this material is for amulets
called "Phra Pid-Da" in Thai (literally : "amulet of the closed eyes") =
which is
a very ancient icon of a person with hands covering
the eyes that many people believe pre-dates Buddhism.
When I ask my Thai friends about this they usually repeat the story that =
it is a
"secret" material made only by Monks, and the
method of manufacture is passed from one Monk to another. Monks do make =
amulets
in the Theravadan Buddhist tradition from substances
including clay, terra-cotta, mixtures of plant material and clays, etc., =
as well
as bronze, silver, brass, sometimes gold. So far no
luck in tracking down a Monk who makes mekhapat, and I am reluctant to =
travel in
Cambodia for safety reasons.
The substance, which I at first believed was a kind of black agate or =
glassine
rock, is black, glossy, smooth to the touch. Slightly
reflective rather than dull. I remember in my childhood in Florida =
finding black
agate ... or was it volcanic glass ... that could
be flaked into razor-sharp shards.
I believed this to be some kind of molten material until one day I came =
across a
large Buddha amulet that was not only clearly
Mekhapat, but also highly magnetic.
I appreciate any ideas you have about what this substance may be.
thanks, Bill Woodruff
dotScience
Chiang Mai, Thailand