Brass Works
Sri Lanka has a long history of metal work, with archaeological finds of smelting furnaces dating from the earliest times of human habitation on the island. The island is well known for its steel and copper crafts, said to have been so highly developed in ancient times, that the country was exporting steel to Damascus. Archeological findings of steel and copper surgical instruments have been discovered in the east central region, especially in the ancient city of Polonnaruwa.
The village of Angulmaduwa, seven kilometres from Beliatta in the southern district of Hambantota, is said to have birthed the country’s first brassware. Famed for its skilled metal artisans, Angulmaduwa is said to have begun producing brass products after the Dutch occupation in the 17th Century.
Today Pilimatalawa in Kandy is best known for their silver and brass works, which is where the majority of the beautifully crafted brasswork that Bilimbi sources comes from. .
Brass is the happy amalgamation of copper and zinc. The percentages of copper and zinc will be varied to gain the desired shade and tone of yellow. The decorative work is hand engraved by skilled local craftsmen depicting traditional Sinhala motifs such as Liyawel, Bherunda Pakshiya, Hansa Puttuwa, Ira handa, Palapethi, Nelum Pethi.
All of the beautiful works curated and sourced by Bilimbi are proud representations of the age old heritage techniques and motifs of Sri Lanka.
Chandra Brass Wall Hanging
Lacquer Works
All our lacquered products are crafted 'laksha' works.
The laksha industry is one of the oldest and traditional industries in Sri Lanka.
During 15th to 8th Century Kandyan kingdom laksha arts and crafts became highly appreciated and received royal patronage, which included the formation of guilds, the standardisation of payments, and even the imposition of penalties for sub-standard work.
Laksha is obtained from the larvae of the Laksha insect, which lives in trees such as cones, masons, kappetiya and thalakiriya. The vibrant colors are made by mixing Laksha with green and yellow by mixing with Sadilingam. Historically, red, yellow and black were the primary colors used in the Laksha industry, but later colors such as blue, green and white came into use. Today, other colors such as purple, lead, copper, and gold are used to make machine-made dyes such as titanium.
Lac-workers, or I-vaduvo, literally meaning 'Laksha carpenters', were responsible for the wood-turning and ornamentation necessary for producing bows, arrows, spears, staves, bed-legs, banner poles, powder horns, oboes, and book covers.
This design is done under two main techniques. That is, nail work and lathe work.
Nail work- The technique of using the finger-nails is one where the lac-worker sits with a chatty (pot) containing a charcoal fire for decorating the objects with Laksha. First, the object is coated with the ground colour, after which it is warmed over the fire and the lac pressed and smoothed with the talipot leaf. When the design is complete, the lac is severed with the thumbnail and shined with the talipot leaf applying coconut oil.
Lathe works - the other technique is called Pattal Wada or “spool-work”. The object to be decorated is rotated on a lathe, and a hardened stick of lac is applied. The heat produced by the friction softens the lac and causes it to adhere to the object. This method is limited to objects that can be turned on a lathe. Most of the items made under this technique are rounded shape.
Both techniques are extremely intricate, time consuming and highly skilled work.
Most of our products are crafted lathe works.
Main type of woods used in the production of Laksha products are Michelia champaca ( Ginisapu), Thespesia populnea ( Gansuriya) and Swietenia mahagoni ( Mahogony).
Laksha artists in Sri Lanka produce their work amidst acute hardships. They have a great deal of respect and devotion to this traditional craft for the production of high-quality goods. It is a privilege to bring this craft to the present and give the incredibly talented artists who persevere in preserving heritage craftsmenship a platform to shine.
