PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS
Page 40 – THE CEYLON BUILDING
THE CEYLON BUILDING.—Distant Ceylon made an admirable snowing at the Columbian Exposition, its building forming a notable exhibit in itself. The “Court,” as it was called, stood just to the north of the German Building, fronting on the lake. The material was of the beautiful native woods of Ceylon, and the pillars, ends of beams and doors were wonderfully carved in imitation of the works of art found in the ancient city of Anurådhapura. The interior of the structure, which was one hundred and sixty-two feet in length, was also decorated with fine carving. The court stood on a projecting basement and its main floor was reached by carved stairways, two leading into the central octagon and one into each of the projecting wings. The shrouded figures seen carved in bas-relief, guarding either side of the steps, are to ward off evil spirits from the house. The entrance was through a beautiful doorway and the scene, on emerging into the central hall, was particularly attractive. The interior carvings represented lotus and other flowers and were admirably executed. Colossal figures of Buddha and Vishnu were prominent objects on either side of the central hall. The whole outside of the building was framed in satin-wood and the roofs were covered with imitation pan-tiles. The roofs over the central hall and the famous tea-room rose in three tiers, and the whole was surmounted by a hammered brass finial, a duplicate of the one on the Temple of the Sacred Tooth of Buddha, at Kandy. The tea-room, it may be added, was a great place of popular resort.
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