Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c11.1

c11.1

BEFORE proceeding to a systematic description of the various crafts, architecture, painting, woodwork, pottery, etc., it is necessary to explain the technical terms applied to the different kinds of ornament, and give some account of their meaning and origin. Accordingly, in the present Chapter the chief elements of Eighteenth Century Kandyan Sinhalese design are named and explained,† the elements, that is to say, of the strictly decorative art, distinguished from the more pictorial and sculpturesque art of the *jataka* paintings and images. The motifs in Sinhalese decorative art may be tabulated as follows, using, as far as possible, the names employed by the craftsmen themselves: