This image of the Sigiriya paintings appears in this collection under permission granted by the Department of Archaeology, Sri Lanka. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited. For permission, email info@archaeology.gov.lk.
Description
This is the first pair of figures on the right. Life-size portraits of young female figures emerging from clouds below them are set on a white background. They wear different ornate head dresses. The figure on the right has a golden color skin, and the one on the left has a darker complexion, both with a Tilaka mark,* three necklaces (one tied around neck), and large round earrings. The upper body of the figure on the right is possibly bare, but the color and neckline are the same as figures clearly clad in a blouse. She has a jewel between her breasts and holds a sunflower in the right hand. The lower garment in green color is worn well below her navel. The figure on left holds a basket of sunflowers and wears a red jacket. *Or Bindi, a symbolic, traditionally red-colored dot on forehead used by Hindu women from historical times or also used simply as an ornamental mark. Worn at the parting of the hair directly above middle of forehead, a red-dot indicates a married woman.
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