Tinder-bag (5 ins square) of brightly-coloured patterned cotton fabric, lined with white calico; square, with flap at top, held closed by a thin cotton string; contains flint (a rough lump of chert), a steel (thick, short, and broad, surface slightly engraved, with ring-like hand-hold at back), and a large quantity of tinder (fungus). Persia. [One of 14 examples (nos 939-952). All ASiatic. Most designed to be suspended from a belt or girdle. Steel is usually carried inside the pouch together with flint and tinder. Tinder is usually fungus-tinder, but often match-tinder in the form of cotton threads loosely twisted into cord an d inserted into a small bamboo tube or hollow stick].