About Malaka Talwatte

A collection, not an accumulation

The Talwatte Collection is the private collection of Malaka Talwatte, a scholar and collector of Sri Lankan and Ceylon art. What is here has been chosen over many years, one work at a time, for the record it keeps and the quality it holds.

Malaka is one of the few people who reads this material closely: the topographers who drew Ceylon for a European audience, the artists of the '43 Group and the traditions around them, and the painters who continue the line. He advises collectors and values works for private owners.

Where a work on paper needs conservation, Malaka works closely with a restorer and can arrange it. The collection is held privately, and shown by appointment in Colombo. Some works are held and are not for sale; others can be acquired.