Cut Glass Craft of Punjab

Amritsar, in Punjab has a fine tradition in glass ware and the products made here are exported in large quantities. These products are mostly elegant utility items. The raw materials used vary from region to region, the two main raw materials being old broken pieces of melted glass or a mixture of sand stone powder and carbonate of soda. In some places, carbonate of soda is mixed with saltpetre and then alkaline earth and water are heated to serve as raw materials. The glass items are adorned with floral designs. A finer variety of glass — using old glass with red sand stone, carbonate, and saltpetre — is made in Panipat.