A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c15.s7.1

c15.s7.1

The Sinhalese people from the earliest times to the present day have loved to decorate their innumerable sacred buildings with brightly coloured edifying pictures. Unfortunately, the combined effects of human violence, continued through the wars of many centuries, and the ruthless energy of tropical nature have left few remains of really ancient paintings, as we have seen in Chapter VIII, and the works of later mediaeval date have not fared much better.