Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c22.102

c22.102

A remarkable alloy, used as a niello, and also in the manufacture of certain small articles such as nails used in superstitious ceremonies, is *pas-lo* or ‘five metals.’ It appears to have consisted of gold, silver, copper, lead and iron. The following couplet details its composition in the above sense: ‘*Pañca lohan hema raupyan, tāmrayah sīsakan matam.*’ It is said that *lokada* (bronze or bell-metal) is sometimes used instead of lead.