Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c22.92

c22.92

*Bronze* Bronze is less commonly used than brass for casting; but some objects, such as elephant bells, cymbals, moulds for beating up brass, silver, or gold, tools used by repoussers are almost invariably of bronze. Pl. XLV., 7, shows a bronze camphor burner, perhaps of Indian origin. Bronze elephant bells are shown on Pl. XLIV., 3, and XLV., 8. An example of the kind of mould referred to is seen in the model of a shoe represented on Pl. XLV., 1. This was the mould for the gold Shoes of State (*miri veḍa saṅgala*) worn by Narēndra Simha; it is still in the possession of the Maṅgalagama *galaddo* who made the shoes. In recent times a model has been made in copper and placed in the Colombo Museum. Moulds for small boxes, such as that shown in Pl. XLIII., 5, are similarly used by gold and silversmiths, but such moulds are also made of wood.