Editing Fresco (section)

===Sri Lanka===
[[File:Sigiriya ladies.jpg|thumb|right|Sigiriya Fresco, Sri Lanka. {{Circa|477 – 495 AD}}]] 
[[File:Church of Deir Mar Musa 03.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Frescos in the [[Monastery of Saint Moses the Abyssinian]], [[Syria]]]]
The Sigiriya Frescoes are found in [[Sigiriya]] in [[Sri Lanka]]. Painted during the reign of [[Kashyapa I of Anuradhapura|King Kashyapa I]] (ruled 477 – 495 AD). The generally accepted view is that they are portrayals of women of the royal court of the king depicted as celestial nymphs showering flowers upon the humans below. They bear some resemblance to the Gupta style of painting found in the [[Ajanta Caves]] in [[India]]. They are, however, far more enlivened and colorful and uniquely Sri Lankan in character. While some scholars contend that these frescos are the only surviving secular art from antiquity found in Sri Lanka today, others argue that they are Buddhist in nature (potentially representing goddesses from Tusita heaven)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Somathilake |first1=Mahinda |title=The Origins of Murals in the Buddhist World |journal=Modern Sri Lanka Studies |date=2013 |volume=IV |issue=2 |pages=71–72 |url=https://arts.pdn.ac.lk/main/publications/files/msls/msls2-3.pdf |access-date=17 January 2025}}</ref>

The painting technique used on the Sigiriya paintings is "fresco lustro". It varies slightly from the pure fresco technique in that it also contains a mild binding agent or glue. This gives the painting added durability, as clearly demonstrated by the fact that they have survived, exposed to the elements, for over 1,500 years.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ponnamperuma|first=Senani|title=Story of Sigiriya|date=2013|publisher=Panique Pty Ltd|location=Melbourne|isbn=9780987345110}}</ref>

Located in a small sheltered depression a hundred meters above ground only 19 survive today. Ancient references, however, refer to the existence of as many as five hundred of these frescoes.