Artists of repute: Are they a dying breed?

By A G.Wickremasinghe

The work of silver on the two main doors in the lower unit of the Maligawa.

Kandy is replete with men with a flare for turning out artistic and cultural items and most of their work can be seen in the historic edifice that contains the Sacred Tooth in the Dalada Maligawa. Artist M.G.Wimalasiri is one such artist of repute and he lives at Nattarampotha in a housing complex known as the Sri Narendrasinghe Kalapuraya.

An admirable piece of work in silver turned out by him can be seen in a design on the main door to the lower unit of the Maligawa. Part of it depicts the royal couple Hemamala and Dhanthakumaru with a beautiful floral work full of artistry complete with the well known hansa poottuwa and pun kalas decorations.

The artist at work.

According to him the work had taken over four months and required 16 kilos of silver to turn out the murals. He lamented that there was no market today for the skilful artwork of men of repute, who are rare today. This would result in a dearth in future of such men of rare artistic skill and talent.

Silver is expensive he said and the cost of silver with the weight of a rupee coin which may have cost only Rs. 3.50 in the 1960s costs a tidy Rs. 600 today. This is a prohibitive sum compared with of the small weight. Besides this the cost involved in turning out of items of silver too has reached such heights that making any work of art is difficult and ultimately not worth the cost and the trouble.