Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c20.s1.1

c20.s1.1

Of paper manuscripts I am acquainted with two only, and am indebted to the owners for the loan of them. The oldest is a small *baṇa daham pota*, containing a selection of *sūtras* or discourses of the Buddha, and said to have been used by the Kuṇḍasālē king (Narēndra Simha) as a prayer book or breviary; it now belongs to Indajoti Unnānse of the Meḍa Pansala, Malvatte. It is written on 168 leaves (two blank) of Dutch paper measuring 5 inches by 3¼ inches. There are twenty-seven lines to a page, rubricated throughout, with stops (*kuṇḍali*) in blue and red and the words separated by red marks. Each *sūtra* is separated from the one following it by a tail-piece very delicately drawn in colour (Pls. XVII. and XX); there is also a page of pure pattern work at the beginning and end. The colours used are red, yellow, black, blue, emerald green and gold. The writing is in a fine *hamsa lipi* hand, on lines ruled feint with a stylus but not marked in any clearer way. The book is bound in brown leather, gold tooled with a pattern, the elements of which are identical with those of the tail-pieces; two very finely worked silver clasps are still perfectly preserved. Pages of the book are reproduced on Pl. XX., and in *Fig. 3*; the clasps and binding are shown in Pl. LII. This little book is so very beautiful and complete in every way as to give cause to regret the absence of others like it. It may be supposed that the binding was executed by some Dutchman or Portuguese resident in Kandy, who must also have explained to the silversmith the form of clasp required; the silver work being typically Kandyan, and the best of its kind.