The American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies is very pleased to announce the availability online of four albums of photographs documenting “Minor Sinhalese Arts”, taken by Ananda K. and Ethel M. Coomaraswamy during their stay in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) from 1903 through 1906. The physical albums are held at the library of the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston. AISLS sponsored their reproduction by the MFA and arranged for their being hosted by Princeton University Library. AISLS is very grateful to both institutions for joining us in this three-way project, and to Janice Leoshko for her leadership role on behalf of AISLS.
The title page of the first album bears the title “Photographs of Sinhalese minor arts, by A.K. and E.M. Coomaraswamy, Vol. I.” The photographs in these albums are chiefly arranged based on artistic media – ceramics, weaving, pottery, ivory, metal, wood, architecture, etc. – and most have handwritten captions. There is a strong emphasis on Kandyan districts, though some item descriptions include the word “Dutch” and there is one section in vol. 2 on “Tamil pottery and jewellery”. Interspersed with the photographs are drawings, some of which are also found in Ethel Coomaraswamy’s notebooks. The photographs document the many old and newly-made works that the Coomaraswamys studied. Both art objects and the artisans are depicted. Some items are from the Colombo or Kandy Museums, but a majority of the images were taken when on tour. The content of the albums is heavily reflected in Ananda Coomaraswamy’s first book (Mediaeval Sinhalese Art: Being a Monograph on Mediaeval Sinhalese Arts and Crafts, Mainly as Surviving in the Eighteenth Century, with an Account of the Structure of Society and the Status of the Craftsmen, Broad Campden: Essex House Press, 1908).
It is possible to download each volume as a pdf file by clicking on the relevant volume as listed underneath “Available Online”. For higher-quality viewing, the images can be viewed online through the viewer in the Princeton catalog entry.
Biographical Note: Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (1877-1947) was a noted art historian and champion of Ceylonese and Indian culture. He published extensively on a wide variety of topics and worked at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston from 1917 to 1947. Ethel Coomaraswamy, born Ethel Mary Partridge and later Ethel Mairet (1872-1952), became well-known as a British-born weaver and researcher of handloom textile and craft. Her portfolios to support teaching of handloom techniques and her writing on dyeing are especially valued.
