No. 57.— 1906.] 



PRGOEEDINGS. 



93 



He was grateful to Mr. Fernando and others for recognizing the 

 main point of his Paper, viz., the tracing back to the Asokan period 

 of the essential features of mediaeval Sinhalese art. 



A knowledge of stone building was certainly of foreign origin, for 

 the Yijayans left their ancestral home at a time when it was not 

 known even there ; almost the first stone buildings in India are the 

 Asokan, and there is nothing to suggest that the idea was independently 

 arrived at in Ceylon. 



H. E. the Governor asked those present to join him in giving Dr. 

 Coomaraswamy a hearty vote of thanks for the very interesting Paper 

 he had read. Dr. Coomaraswamy had entered upon the slow path of 

 investigation, and it was possible the result might be very interesting 

 in the future in Ceylon. 



Mr. Fernando's remarks regarding Sigiri were of peculiar interest. 

 He did not think any collection had been published of the various 

 frescoes in the different vihares in the Island. As far as he could 

 remember, there were some portions of the frescoes at Dambulla 

 which showed something of the same influence as was seen at Sigiri. 

 He thought it would be very interesting from an archaeological point 

 of view if they could collect the various frescoes which seemed to be 

 in existence in the vihares in Kandyan districts and get them together 

 with some care, as these things had been got together in India. 

 Students would then have the opportunity of comparing the details 

 and coming to a conclusion. 



He was not competent to express an opinion on the debatable points 

 raised ; but one thing he was quite clear about was that they would 

 all join with him in heartily thanking Dr. Coomaraswamy for the 

 Paper he had read before them, which must be interesting to all 

 interested in the Archaeology of Ceylon. 



Dr. Coomaraswamy thanked his audience for the kind reception 

 they had given the vote of thanks proposed by His Excellency. The 

 pleasant and reciprocal duty now devolved upon him of proposing a 

 vote of thanks to His Excellency for kindly coming there and taking 

 the chair. The Society had every reason to congratulate itself on the 

 interest and support it received from His Excellency, and he might say 

 the whole Island should be grateful to His Excellency for the interest 

 he took in such matters and the sympathy and support he gave to all 

 efforts to preserve the handicrafts of the Sinhalese which were still to 

 some extent preserved, but the lives of which hung by so very slender 

 a thread. 



This concluded the business of the Meeting. 



Appendix. 

 [ u Ceylon Observer," August 8, 1906.] 



Colombo, August 8, 1906. 



Dear Sir,— As promised, I write to you. The name of the Pali 

 rammar referred to in my remarks at the discussion of Dr. Coomara- 

 wamy's Paper at the last Meeting of the Asiatic Society at the Colombo 



