The elegant proportions of Sri Lankan Crucifixes were greatly admired in 16th- and 17th-century Europe.
In 1583 the secretary to the Viceroy of Goa was sufficiently impressed to write: “The archbishop was presented with a crucifix made of ivory by an inhabitant of the island of Ceylon, that was so artistic and masterful that the hair, beard and face seemed as natural as a living person, and so finely made, with limbs so well proportioned that one would not see its equal in Europe.”
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