Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c22.139

c22.139

*Degenera-tion* At one time it occurred to me to lay considerable stress in this volume upon the degeneration of modern Sinhalese craft; but it would have been a thankless task, and it will suffice to say that nowhere is it more conspicuous than in jewellery, and in general, it could hardly be more complete. It is a compliment to true Sinhalese art to say that the jewellery now made has nothing characteristically Sinhalese about it. With the loss of the tradition of good design, has gone the capacity for fine work; not only is it impossible to get fine old work copied, but modern settings in particular are so insecure that the stones frequently fall out in a few days. Sinhalese jewellery to-day has indeed sunk “to the level of the extravagantly hard and vulgar trinketry of Birmingham, Paris, and Vienna.”