GUIDE TO THE COLOMBO MUSEUM. 165 



— were used by the Sinhalese m their wars. These were very 

 similar to the caiinon manufactured by the Filippinos a few years 

 back during their wars with the United States. These guns could 

 be carried by two men, and were most efficacious in guerilla war. 

 A handsome brass-mounted specimen is seen on the floor of the 

 Central Hall. The powder horns in Case 20 should also be noted. 

 They are of ivory or horn, and among the prettiest are some formed 

 from the coconut shell. (See Plate XVII.) 



One specimen of a Sinhalese shield of buffalo hide appears in 

 Case 20. It is interesting to note that' a white shield was one of the 

 Sinhalese insignia of royalty, and that it was adopted as such by 

 the Portuguese Captains -General, as representing their king. 



Some specimens of stone " cannon-balls " will be seen on a stand 

 at the foot of the stairs. These come from Medamahanuwara, the 

 city of refuge which the Sinhalese kings maintained during their 

 wars with the Portuguese durmg the first half of the seventeenth 

 century. It is however doubtful if the Sinhalese possessed guns of 

 sufficient caUbre to discharge such projectiles, and it is much more 

 probable that they were used with one of the species of catapults 

 which were known in the East. 



Ivories (Cases 16 and 21). 



Whether the Court of Solomon was supplied with its ivory from 

 Ceylon or not, this country has from the earliest dawn of history 

 been renowned for the quality of its ivory, gems, and pearls ; and 

 out of the exhibits to be seen at the Museum, the instinct of the 

 Sinhalese workman for what is beautiful is probably best shown in 

 the ivory carving. The smith caste has always been a favoured 

 one with the Sinhalese kings ; among its nine classes were allotted 

 works so different as the hewing of stones, the lacquering of spear 

 handles, the carving of ivory, and the making of ornaments of gold. 

 Several colonies of these people were imported from time to time 

 from South India, bringing over with them the traditions of their 

 own country. An elaborate organization of their caste existed 

 round the Sinhalese Court till the extinction of the Kandyan 

 Kingdom, and valuable information on the subject can be obtained 

 from an article by Mr. H. W. Codrington, C.C.S., on the Kandyan 

 Navandanno, in the 21st volume of the Journal of the Ceylon Branch 

 of the Royal Asiatic Society. 



Ivory and gems entered largely into the decoration of temples 

 and palaces, the king's throne in the earliest times being wrought 

 of ivory. Plaques of ivory were used to cover the wooden doorposts 

 of sacred edifices , and specimens of these may be seen at the Museum , 

 the depth of their carving, the elegance of the design, and the 

 finish of the work making them particularly striking. The fragment 

 of an ivory door frame carved out of a slab 1|~ inch in thickness, 

 which is shown in the illustration, is a specimen of the finest kind 

 of Sinhalese work. These panels not only display the conventional 

 designs of leaf and flower, but elaborate figures of deities and 

 heraldic devices Uke the elephant and the two-headed eagle. The 

 two carved panels from the Treasury of the last king , which occupy 

 the central place in the case on the left, though lacking in the vigour 

 of the oldest specimens, are of special interest from their historical 

 associations. (See Plate XVIII.) 



Akin to these panels are the ivory book covers \vhich were used 

 to protect the palm-leaf books of the Sinhalese. A long string 



