From: m1pkd00@fed.frb.gov (Prasad K. Dharmasena)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.sri-lanka,dc.general,dc.smithsonian
Subject: Sri Lankan Sculpture Exhibition
Date: 9 Nov 92 15:55:21 GMT
Reply-To: m1pkd00@fed.frb.gov (Prasad K. Dharmasena)
Followup-To: soc.culture.sri-lanka
Distribution: usa
Organization: Federal Reserve Board, Wash, DC


	      The Golden Age of Sculpture from Sri Lanka

				   
		       Smithsonian Institution
		      Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
		     1050 Independence Avenue, SW
			 Washington, DC 20560


This exhibition of fifty-two masterpieces of sculpture in bronze, gilt
bronze, and gold is the first major exhibition of Sri Lankan art in the
United States.  "The Golden Age of Sculpture from Sri Lanka" opened at
the Sackler Gallery on November 1 and continues through September 26,
1993.  Included in the exhibition are ancient Buddist works dating from 
the second through twelfth century and Hindu pieces from the eleventh
and twelfth centuries.  The objects, about one-third of them discovered
within the past thirty years, are on loan from the national museums of 
Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka, once known as Ceylon, is an island nation roughly the size of 
West Virginia.  Buddhism arrived in Sri Lanka from India in the third
century B.C. and has been practiced there ever since.  Hinduism gained
ascendancy with the conquest of Sri Lanka by the Chola dynasty of South
India in A.D. 993.  Today, about 70 percent of Sri Lanka's population of 
nearly seventeen million people are Buddhist and 15.5 percent are Hindu.

Sri Lankan art had long been viewed in terms of its relationship to the
Buddhist and Hindu art produced in South India.  However, material in the
exhibition clarifies Sri Lanka's distinct aesthetic.

Buddhists from Sri Lanka made pilgrimages to the sacred places in North
India even in ancient times.  Small bronze images were carried back to 
Sri Lankan monasteries by monks and other Buddhist pilgrims.  Nevertheless,
the influence of Indian iconography on Sri Lankan images is limited.  Rather,
many of the distinctive features and gestures of Sri Lankan sculpture seem
to have developed out of local Buddhist traditions.  The gracefully posed
gilt-bronze Bodhisttva Avalokiteshvara from the eighth-ninth century 
(object number 26), shown on this calendar, has eyes inlaid with crystal,
a Sri Lankan convention.

After the tenth century, with the influx of Hindus from South India, it
becomes difficult to ascertain the nationality of the artist who crated
certain objects.  Buddhist, Hindu, Indian, and Sir Lankan artists all made
images for use in either religion.  The distint nature of Sri Lankan taste
and choices, however, is evident throughout.

"The Golden Age of Sculpture from Sri Lanka" was organized by the Musee
Guimet, Paris, and is presented by the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in
cooperation with the government of Sri Lanka, represented by the Embassy
of Sri Lanka in Washington, DC.  Generous support was also provided by
Air Lanka Limited.  Additional funding was contributed by American Express
Company.

"Nineteenth-Century Photographs from Sri Lanka," a related exhibition that
opens December 20, shows twenty-one views of Sri Lanka and sites similar
to those from which these sculptures were recovered.  The photographs were 
taken ca. 1860-1870s and show some of the sites before restoration.

--

{ I was there yesterday.  The exhibition is very well presented.  There were
  a lot of recent, as recent as 1983, discoveries.  Small sculptures show
  the attention to the details and skills of the 10th - 12th century 
  artists.  What caught my attention the most were three gold leaves (pages)
  from a 10-12th century book.  The letters, which were very clear, were
  similar to current Sinhalese characters, but distinct enough for us lay
  people to not be able to read.  It is important to note that this exhibition
  focuses on one particular era of Sri Lankan sculpture.  A cross section
  of the history of Sri Lankan sculpture would have given far more variety.

  If you come to Washington, DC area, don't miss this exhibition.  Like
  all the other Smithsonian museums, it's free of charge.  It took me
  about an hour to go through.

  Among a few other books on Sri Lanka, you can find your own copy of 
  "Mahawamsa" (History of Sri Lanka - English version) for $35.00 from the 
  bookstore at Sackler Gallery.  -- prasad }

--
Prasad Dharmasena     Internet: <pkd@fed.FRB.GOV>     UUCP: <uunet!fed!pkd>
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