Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c22.58

c22.58

of a bird, the beak engaging with a staple, and the flattened tail used as a lever to turn the whole bolt about the nail that fastens it. A great variety of ingenious bolts are found inside the brass tobacco boxes (heppu) in common use. They are of brass or iron, or both combined, manipulated by turning bosses or rivets on the outside of the box; the box is ‘locked’ by turning