The Sinhalese Kastane: Its Development, Decoration and Symbolism

Prasanna Weerakkody · 15th March 2014, 05:11 PM

Fernando; I believe that is an omission by the artist who had not seen the kasthana himself. Similar errors abound in his work but there is also much that can be corroborated with known sources to give a level of credibility to the material included.

Ibrahiim the image of King Rajasinge II is also from Knox- and by the same artist as the illustration I included. both the I and II Rajasinhe’s had a habit of donating swords to both Buddhist and Hindu temples as tokens of battle victories. but from what I have seen is quite often these turn out to be Portuguese swords possibly belonging to the vanquished enemy captains. I am not sure if King Rajasinghe II sword has properly been identified in collections yet. Knox remained a captive in Kandy for near 2 decades and had audience with the King on many occasions- so his description could be believed

Regards

Prasanna

15th March 2014, 05:11 PM	#11
Prasanna Weerakkody Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Sri Lanka Posts: 52	Fernando; I believe that is an omission by the artist who had not seen the kasthana himself. Similar errors abound in his work but there is also much that can be corroborated with known sources to give a level of credibility to the material included. Ibrahiim the image of King Rajasinge II is also from Knox- and by the same artist as the illustration I included. both the I and II Rajasinhe’s had a habit of donating swords to both Buddhist and Hindu temples as tokens of battle victories. but from what I have seen is quite often these turn out to be Portuguese swords possibly belonging to the vanquished enemy captains. I am not sure if King Rajasinghe II sword has properly been identified in collections yet. Knox remained a captive in Kandy for near 2 decades and had audience with the King on many occasions- so his description could be believed Regards Prasanna