Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c15.22

c15.22

But the Government remains equally blind to the artistic and the practical value of the traditional crafts; and the Europeanised Sinhalese are, if possible, more ignorant and deluded. To take one instance only; at the Musæus Buddhist School in Colombo, it was decided to build a little temple for the use of the girls. Here, if anywhere, one might have looked for some appreciation of tradition, some elementary conception of fitness and the association of ideas; but no—the local paper informs us that the building “is a very pretty structure, a vaulted roof with a fine dome, gothic windows, doors and a porch, with parapet battlements of classic design, being very effective.”