Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c19.6

c19.6

Black (*kalu pāṭa*).—This is lamp-black, to make which, jak-milk (*kos-kiri*, i.e. juice from the fruit of *Artocarpus integrifolia*), *keḳuna* oil (oil of *Canarium zeylanicum*), and rosin (*hal-dummala*, from the *hāl*-tree, *Vateria acuminata*) are ground up together and mixed with shreds of cotton cloth, then set over a small fire in a clean earthen pot with a second pot inverted above it. The soot is deposited in the upper pot and thence collected. Its oily nature makes it difficult to mix with water.