Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c24.53

c24.53

In describing the ordinary methods of ornamenting earthen vessels, I refer only to such Ornament decoration as is applied before firing. What is ordinarily known as ‘painted Kandyan pottery’ is painted with oil colours (formerly with water colour varnished) after the pots are fired, and this work will not be referred to in the present section. Leaving that oil-painted pottery aside, the decoration of pottery may be classed as incised, stamped, and slip-painted. The simplest form of slip-painting is the application of concentric bands of red, to apply which the vessel is inverted on the wheel, which is revolved slowly while the brush is held against it (see Pl. V., 3, where a kaḷageḍiya is being thus treated). The red paint is made by grinding up with water certain ferruginous nodules and concretions called gurugal, while white paint is similarly made from kaolin. Beside the plain stripes, simple geometrical ornaments in red or white is sometimes seen, as on the pōrṇuva (Pl. XXV., 6). Black stripes are sometimes done with graphite.