A PALM-LEAF MANUSCRIPT WITH LACQUERED BOOK COVERS
Possibly Ceylon, Sri Lanka, 18th - 19th century

Sinhalese manuscript on palm leaves, 105 dried palm leaves of non-illustrated religious discourses, possibly of the Buddhist doctrine transcribed from Pali, text on recto and verso, two binding holes per each leaf, bound between two polychrome lacquered wooden boards, painted in bright red, ochre yellow, green and black ink, with an interlocking and scrolling vegetal tendril motif interspersed with rosettes and pomegranate-shaped fruits, each page marked with a number and the wooden boards marked with the direction of reading 'deckel' and 'unten', 47cm x 6.8cm x 5cm.

The Tooth Temple in Kandy preserves an entire library dedicated to the Buddhist doctrine and rituals. Most manuscripts there contained are made of dried palm leaves and their lacquered wooden boards, always painted in the chromatic palette trio of red, yellow and green, match ours in design and decorative motifs.