Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c11.s1.96

c11.s1.96

I have selected as the best equivalent for these Sinhalese and German terms.* The words *Design* and ‘vine’ and ‘spray’ are also suitable equivalents, with the reservation, of course, that the ornament grape vine, is not met with in Sinhalese art, even as a foreign element. In using the word ‘branch,’ I have had in mind the Keltic stories† of Faery branches that stilled all sorrow by the sound of their shaking; for as they through the ears lightened the burden of sorrow, so has the burden of labour been lightened by the painted or carved branches of the craftsman.