ANCIENT BRONZES. 
71 
Other Bronzes from the North-Central Province. 
In some instances no exact locality was attached to the pieces, 
and these form a miscellaneous assortment from the North-Central 
Province. Only a few of them need be mentioned here. Chief 
amongst them are a bronze ampulla (No. 146) of graceful design, 
over 1 ft. high, the bottom detached, a narrow straight rectangular 
spout, and a lid supported by a chain ; and, secondly, a plain bronze 
begging-bowl, or patra, 5| in. in diameter, 4 in. deep (No. 173; 
this is clearly the patra from Puliyankulam referred to above in 
a footnote on p. 61). 
147. Incense burner or cresset 8J in. long. 
149. Pear-shaped tinkling bell ( gejja) 1| in. long. 
152-153. Pediments over a foot in diameter. 
154-156. Thin bronze dishes, much broken. 
157-158. Probably gongs. 
159-161. Small bells, 2-2J in. high. 
162. Bronze box for lime (chunam box), 2 in. high. 
163. Seven-headed cobra, 6J in. high, roughly cast and un¬ 
finished. 
164-165. Bronze finials, 6-7J in. high. 
167. Ornamental bronze shaft, 14J in. long, broken at both ends. 
168-170. Three pieces of a bronze tripod which stood 1 ft. 6 in. 
high. 
171. Single cymbal (like No. 43 in the first series) with the 
smith’s mark inscribed upon it. 
172-173. Bowls (see note above on No. 173). 
174-175. Lids, 4J-6i| in. across. 
176-177. Bronze bangles. 
181. Bronze pin, If in. long. 
Oornfra Bronzes. 
The history of Dondra (near Matara) is summarized in Tennent’s 
“ Ceylon” 1860, Vol. II., pp. 113 and 114. 
“ The most important temple was a shrine which in very early 
times had been erected by the Hindus in honour of Vishnu. It was 
in the height of its splendour, when in 1587 the place was devastated 
in the course of the marauding expedition by which De Souza 
d’ Arronches sought to create a diversion during the siege of Colombo 
by Raja Sinha II.” 
Sir Emerson Tennent may have been somewhat in error in attri¬ 
buting the foundation of the temple to the Hindus, inasmuch as the 
cult of Vishnu is closely connected with that of Buddha in Ceylon. 
In most Buddhist Vihares in Ceylon there is a black statue of Vishnu 
either in the same room with the Buddha-rupa, or in a separate 
camere. 
