What was used to burnish the completed paintings during the early Mughal phase to set the colors and give radiance?

1) Gold leaf
2) Agate, a gemstone
3) Silver powder
4) Fevicol

2

The correct answer is Option 2- 2 (Agate)

The artworks produced during the early Mughal phase were collaborative efforts of the team of artists. And based on one’s specialisation, each artist would undertake an aspect of the painting that he was comfortable with or delegated. Records tell us that the artists were given incentives and increments in their salary according to the work done. The recorded names of the master artists also informs of the position that they enjoyed in the royal atelier. Once the painting was complete, agate, a gemstone, was used to burnish the work to set the colours and give desired radiance to the painting. Some of the pigments and colours achieved from those were — vermilion from cinnabar, ultramarine from Lapiz Lazuli, bright yellow from orpiment, shells grounded for making white and lampblack from charcoal. Gold and silver powders were mixed with colours or sprinkled to add extravagance to a painting.