Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c15.27

c15.27

Door jambs are almost always carved, sometimes very elaborately, as in the example from Dippiṭiya Vihāra figured by Mr. Bell (*Kēgalla Report*). The usual arrangement shows a *pala-peṭi* moulding at the inner angle, and *liya vēla* (‘branch’) ornament on the front; at the base on either side, a carved representation of a guardian deity in low relief, or a figure of a dancer, or an elephant or other form, above which come the *asana kaḍaya* incisions so characteristic of Kandyan woodwork (e.g. Fig. 74, D), then a *geṭa liya poṭa* or *nāga bandha*, from which the rest of the carved jamb begins and continues. The lintel may be straight or arched, and plain or carved. In some cases all the carving referred to is executed in ivory and thus applied in lieu of carving the jamb itself (Pl. XXXVIII., 1).