Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c21.8

c21.8

The ivory carver’s chief tools are his saws and gravers and chisels. The work he does is varied in character, covering a wide range of objects required for religious, architectural and personal use. The statuettes and images are of special interest. Ivory statuettes of Buddha are not very rare; good examples are to be found in the Colombo Museum. They appear to have been usually painted; traces of paint can still be seen on some. I have seen only standing figures in ivory, none seated or reclining. Statuettes of kings, and ordinary men and women are also common, and are sometimes excellently done. Some figures of Raṭemahātmayās, drummers and other characters executed in the twentieth century are superior to any old ones I have seen. The figures (from the Colombo Museum) shown on Plate XXXVI. are of the eighteenth or early nineteenth century and more useful as records of the costume of the royalty and nobility, than remarkable as works of art; the costume is explained in the description of the Plate.