A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c13.s6: Section VII. Ceylon
A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c13.s6
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Section VII. Ceylon
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For reasons already stated (*ante*, p. 87) it is not possible at present either to arrange the Ceylonese sculptures in exact chronological order, or, with rare exceptions, to determine the dates of individual specimens. Even the rough division between Early and Mediaeval used as a working arrangement is to some extent arbitrary and open to correction. Mr. Parker's test of the age of buildings based on the size of the bricks may help to more definite conclusions if applied systematically to the associated sculptures. But a considerable amount of uncertainty about dates may be expected to remain.
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FIG. 178. Seated Buddha, 6 ft. 9 in. high; at Pankuliya Vihāre, Anurādhapura; ? 10th cent. (Photo. C. 136, A. S., Ceylon.)
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FIG. 179. Seated Buddha; limestone, about 3 feet high; from Vihāre, No. 2, Polonnāruwa; now in Colombo Museum. (Photo. C. 1411, A. S., Ceylon.)
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The notable statue of an aged bearded man cut in the face of a boulder to the east of the Topāveva embankment at Polonnāruwa, popularly known as the image of King Parākrama Bāhu the Great, who reigned from A. D. 1153 to 1186, certainly is not what it is supposed to be. The figure, cut in gneiss (granite), and 11½ feet high, stands full face, fronting nearly south, in an easy attitude, with the right leg slightly bent. The costume is confined to a tall cap and simple loin-cloth held up by a band knotted in front. The hands support a model of a palm-leaf book (*ola*) held across the body. The expression of the face is grave, and the half-closed eyes look down upon the manuscript. A long rounded beard and drooping moustache add to the gravity of the countenance. These details are inconsistent with the popular attribution. Mr. Bell is of opinion that the book and the whole appearance and pose of the figure stamp it unmistakably as the portrait of a reverend religious teacher from the Indian continent. He suggests that the statue may represent an ascetic named Kapila, for whom Parākrama Bāhu built a richly adorned dwelling.¹
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¹ *A. S. Rep.*, 1906, p. 11, Pl. XI. I have not received a photograph. The image has been reproduced also in the *Guide to Colombo Museum* (1905), p. 21; and in Cave, *Ruined Cities of Ceylon* (1897), p. 119. It has been published again by Dr. Coomaraswamy for the India Society.
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A few of the more remarkable Buddha statues, probably to be assigned to the period dealt with in this chapter, demand notice.
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Two seated Buddhas strike me as being excellent works and out of the common—namely, the colossal image at the Pankuliya Vihāre, Anurādhapura (Fig. 178), and the smaller image from Vihāre, No. 2, Polonnāruwa (Fig. 179). The characteristic points of each appear sufficiently from the photographs without detailed comment. Mr. Bell conjectures that the Pankuliya statue may date from the tenth century; the Polonnāruwa image may be two centuries later.
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FIG. 180. Colossal Buddha at Awkana, N. C. P. (Photo. C. 530, A. S., Ceylon.)
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The largest statue in the island, and perhaps the most impressive, is the colossal standing image of Buddha at Awkana, N. C. P., 46 feet in height, including the pedestal. It is cut from the face of an enormous boulder, practically in the round, being joined to the rock only by a slight support. Local tradition attributes the work to the reign of Parākrama Bāhu. The expression of calm majesty is given successfully (Fig. 180).
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A similar, and nearly as large, but less effective colossus, carved merely in high relief, and inferior in execution, stands at Sasēruwa, N. W. P., and may be assigned to the same period.²
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² For Awkana image see Bell, *A. S. Rep.*, 1895, pp. 6, 12: Tennent, *Ceylon*, 2nd ed., vol. ii, p. 604, with woodcut. The Sasēruwa image is described in Mr. Bell's report above cited; photos. C. 517, 518, 519.
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The numerous recumbent effigies of the Dying Buddha, usually executed on a large scale, are sufficiently illustrated by the reproduction of the great image, 38 feet long, at Tantri-malai (Fig. 181). The figure, it may be observed, is really Plate XLIX. Colossal statue of ‘Ānanda’, Polonnāruwa. (Photo. C. 1356.)
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that of a recumbent person, and is not simply that of a standing man laid on his side, as some of the Gandhāran images are.
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The stately colossal standing image at the Gal-vihāre, Polonnāruwa, popularly known, and apparently rightly, as that of Ānanda, the disciple of Buddha, is one of the most imposing and interesting statues in Ceylon (Plate XLIX). The faithful attendant stands watching a colossal recumbent figure of his dying Master.
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FIG. 181. The Dying Buddha, 38 feet long; at Tantri-malai. (Photo. C. 701.)
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FIG. 182. The ‘stone-book’, Polonnāruwa. (Photo. C. 1609.)
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No monument in the island is more extraordinary than the gigantic ‘stone book’ (*gal-pota*) at Polonnāruwa, a monolith brought from Mihintalē, eighty miles distant, at the close of the twelfth century by Nissanka's ‘mighty men’, as recorded in a long inscription on its surface. It is nearly 27 feet long, 4 feet 7 inches broad, and varies in depth from 1 foot 4 inches to 2 feet 2 inches. The relief sculpture shown in Fig. 182 treats of the common Indian subject, elephants pouring water over Srī or Lakshmī—the goddess of good fortune. The art is not of high quality.
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More artistic bas-reliefs of uncertain date occur elsewhere. Perhaps the most remarkable is that at Pokuna (masonry tank) A, Anurādhapura, which vividly depicts elephants bathing, and then charging away when scared. The relief is so low that the photographs are not sufficiently distinct for successful reproduction. Mr. Bell describes this work, which is in two sections, as an absolutely unique piece of carving,
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FIG. 183. Stele from Vihāre, No. 2, Polonnāruwa. (Photo. C. 1607.)
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FIG. 184. Pārvatī, from Siva temple, No. 1, Polonnāruwa. (Photo. C. 1583.)
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and without exception the most spirited and life-like to be seen anywhere among the ruins of Anurādhapura.¹ It is supposed to date from the time of Parākrama Bāhu.
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¹ *Ann. Rep. Arch. S.*, 1901, p. 6; photos. A. 405, 406, C. 1304.
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Another Anurādhapura bas-relief, of which I have not seen photographs, represents 'jungle men and women (? Veddō), unclothed, bears, deer, monkeys, peacock, mongoose, and cobra, and other wild animal life—for the most part spiritedly carved.'¹
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¹ *Ann. Rep. Arch. S.*, 1897, p. 2.
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A third remarkable relief at Velana-damana, N. C. P. is described as depicting a fight between a giant and four adversaries.²
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² Ibid., 1896, p. 7.
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The scroll pattern so much in favour at Polonnāruwa, before and after A. D. 1200, is well illustrated by the stele reproduced in Fig. 183, which may be contrasted with the earlier Anurādhapura stelae in a different style (*ante*, Plate XX).
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Numerous Hindu temples dating from the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and apparently built by and for Tamil invaders, exist at Polonnāruwa, and naturally supply many sculptures. The art is not high class, but one small image of a goddess, presumably Pārvatī (Fig. 184), is shown for comparison with the bronzes to be described in the next section.
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FIG. 185. *Makara-toraṇa*, Vijayārāma monastery. (Photo. A. 19.)
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Limitations of space forbid detailed notice of the richly designed tracery window from the palace at Yapahu (A. D. 1303–19), the Medagoda Pillar (? A. D. 1577), and the Kandyan 'floral moonstone' of Hanguranketa, which are all in the Colombo Museum, and described in the *Guide* to that institution. Other interesting works are omitted for the same reason.
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A favourite form of architectural decoration is the *makara-toraṇa*, or 'dragon-arch', composed of scrolls proceeding from the mouths of conventional *makaras*, or crocodile-dragons. Fig. 185 gives a good example from the Vijayārāma monastery, Anurādhapura, dating probably from the eighth century. A later Chalukyan specimen has been illustrated (*ante*, p. 230, Fig. 165).
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[Figure: Plate L. Brass (or pale bronze) statue of Pattinī Devī, goddess of chastity, Ceylon, in British Museum. (Photo. by Dr. A. K. Coomaraswamy.)]
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*Bronzes.*
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The remarkable richness of Ceylon in art-works of metal, chiefly bronze, was not realized until recent discoveries compelled attention to the fact. Before 1905 a few objects of interest had been collected by the casual exertions of individuals, but since that date the numerous additions to the public collections have been acquired by the systematic operations of the Archaeological Survey. Few, if any, of the castings are earlier than the tenth century, and most of them are assignable to the eleventh or twelfth, or even the early part of the thirteenth century.
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Perhaps the most notable of the Ceylon bronzes is that first discovered—an image of the goddess Pattinī Devī, found near the north-eastern coast somewhere between Trincomalee and Batticalwa, and presented to the British Museum in 1830. It stands 4 feet 9½ inches in height, and is composed of a metal which looks like brass, but may be a pale bronze (Plate L). It seems to have been originally gilt. The age of the work is doubtful. The cleverness with which the transparency of the skirt is shown recalls similar skill exhibited in the Gupta sculpture of the fifth century in Northern India (*ante*, p. 170), but it would be rash to attribute such an early date to the Ceylonese image for that reason only, and it is difficult to find any other test of its age.
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The nudity above the waist, which may offend the European eye, is in accordance with the ancient custom of Southern India and Ceylon, not wholly disused, I believe, even in these days. The waist is rather too much attenuated, in conformity with common Indian practice, examples of which may be found even in the Bharhut sculptures (*ante*, p. 73); but, except for that defect, the modelling is good, and the hands especially are admirable.
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Pattinī is one of the most popular deities in Ceylon, and her worship is still kept up on the mainland also, whence it was introduced into the island, most probably in the reign of Gajabāhu I at some time in the second century of the Christian era. The cult seems to have originated in the Chera territory (Coimbatore and Salem), but some of the legends connect its beginnings with a Pāṇḍya King of Madura. The goddess is considered to be the guardian of female chastity, and is also credited with power over epidemics, whether of man or beast. Two wooden images of her and her husband found in a cave at the Nikawaewa monastery are supposed to date from the eleventh century. The British Museum bronze may be quite as early.¹
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¹ The legend of the goddess is too long to quote. See *The Tamilian Antiquary*, No. 3 (1909), p. vii note; ibid., No. 5, p. 47: and Dr. Coomaraswamy in *J. R. A. S.*, 1909, p. 293, with references. The wooden images are figured in Parker, *Ancient Ceylon*, Fig. 272.
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Some good bronzes, believed to date from about the tenth century, have been obtained from various localities within the area of the ancient capital, Anurādhapura. They include a pair of miniature feet apparently belonging to a lost statuette, and only three inches in length, which are described as ‘excellently modelled’.² Like the great Buddha in the Birmingham Museum, they were cast on a core, in this case of iron. The best pieces, from the aesthetic point of view, are a large bronze panel (Fig. 186), and a statuette supposed to be that of a Bodhisattva (Fig. 187). The panel, which is thick and heavy, measures 20 inches in length by 7 in breadth, and shows traces of gilding. The design is a boldly executed scroll. The statuette, 20¼ inches high, was found to the south of the Thūpārāma. The person represented stands in the pose with a double bend, known technically as *tivanka*. The drapery is gracefully treated, the modelling, especially of the hands, is truthful, and the serene expression of the face is pleasing.¹ The style closely resembles that of some of the Polonnāruwa bronzes, which are ascribed to the twelfth century, and the Anurādhapura statuette may be as late.
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² Bell, *Anurādhapura and the North-Central Province*, *7th Progress Report* (xiii, 1896), Pl. XVII.
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¹ See *Burlington Magazine*, 1910, p. 87, Pl. I, 3.
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The few bronzes collected at Polonnāruwa in 1906, forming the first series in the Colombo Museum (Nos. 40–52), are not of much importance; but the second and third series, excavated in 1907 and 1908 from the Siva Dewālē and neighbouring sites, may be fairly said to add a new chapter to the history of art in Ceylon. Nothing
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FIG. 186. Bronze panel from Anurādhapura, No. 96 in ‘List of finds’, Colombo Museum. (Photo. supplied by Director.)
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like them was known before, except the Anurādhapura Bodhisattva, if that be the correct designation for it. A few of the best have been selected from a set of good photographs taken by Dr. Andreas Nell and kindly supplied by the Government of Ceylon. The identification of the images has been effected by the Honourable Mr. P. Arunachalam. The bronzes, all massive and very heavy, are ascribed to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Their large size proves that the artists of those days knew how to overcome the difficulties of casting bronze on a considerable scale, and gives the images an importance and dignity which cannot be claimed by miniature works a few inches high. In the opinion of Dr. A. Willey, F.R.S., late Director of the Colombo Museum, they ‘are Polonnāruwa bronzes for better or for worse’, and certainly were not imported from the mainland.² But I am disposed to agree with Mr. Bell that they were executed in India. The specimens from Southern India exhibited by Lord Ampthill at the Indian Section of the Festival of Empire (1911) are exactly in the same style (*ante*, p. 236, note 2).
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² *Spolia Zeylanica*, Sept., 1909, p. 67 note.
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The place of honour may be given to the spirited images of Siva as ‘Naṭarāja’, 'Lord of the Dance', the first of their kind to be found in Ceylon (Plate LI; Fig. 188); which compare favourably with the best examples of similar compositions in Southern India (*ante*, p. 238). A specimen in the Madras Museum arouses enthusiasm, which few can share fully, in the breast of Dr. A. K. Coomaraswamy, who first published photographs of the work. In order to make the Ceylonese bronzes intelligible, the explanation of the legend of Siva's manifestation as 'Lord of the Dance', given in the *Koyil Purānam*, and said to be familiar to all southern worshippers of the god, is quoted from the eloquent pages of the author referred to:—
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'Siva appeared in disguise amongst a congregation of the thousand sages, and in the course of disputation, confuted them and so angered them thereby, that they endeavoured by incantations to destroy Him. A fierce tiger was created in sacrificial flames, and rushed upon Him, but smiling gently, He seized it with His sacred hands, and with the nail of His little finger stripped off its skin, which he wrapped about Himself as if it had been a silken cloth. Undiscouraged by failure, the sages renewed their offerings, and there was produced a monstrous serpent, which He seized and wreathed about His neck. Then He began to dance; but there rushed upon Him a last monster in the shape of a hideous malignant dwarf. Upon him the God pressed the tip of his foot, and broke the creature's back, so that it writhed upon the ground; and so, His last foe prostrate, Siva resumed the dance of which the gods were witnesses.
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FIG. 187. Bronze statuette, ? of a Bodhisattva, from Anurādhapura; No. 97, 'List of finds', Colombo Museum. (Photo., supplied by Director.)
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One interpretation of this legend explains that He wraps about Him as a garment, the tiger fury of human passion; the guile and malice of mankind He wears as a necklace, and beneath His feet is for ever crushed the embodiment of evil. More characteristic of Indian thought is the symbolism, in terms of the marvellous grace and rhythm of Indian dancing, the effortless ease with which the God in his grace supports the cosmos; it is his sport. The five acts of creation, preservation, destruction, embodiment and gracious release are his ceaseless mystic dance. In sacred Tillai, the "New Jerusalem", the dance shall be revealed; and Tillai is the very centre of the Universe, that is, His dance is within the cosmos and the soul.'¹
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¹ *The Aims of Indian Art* (pamphlet, Essex House Press, 1908).
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The more prosaic description of the group by Mr. Arunachalam, slightly condensed, will enable the student to appreciate the intention of the formal symbolism. The god's hair is braided, forming a crown at the top and a circular coil at the back, Plate LI. Bronze Śiva Naṭarāja, 3 feet high, No. 1, from Polonnāruwa (Colombo Museum). (Photo. by Dr. A. Nell.)
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the lower braids whirling in the dance, which is named *Tāṇḍava*. The mermaid on the right braid (indistinct in the photograph) symbolizes the Ganges; a crescent moon and serpent decorate the left braid. Other serpents coiled round his body are regarded as symbols of Siva's energy. His three eyes, one in the forehead, represent the sun, moon, and fire; the skull at the base of the crown is a symbol of destruction, and the necklace, composed of skulls of Brahmas, Vishnus, and Rudras, symbolizes the evolution and involution of the universe throughout the aeons. The bisexual nature of the deity is indicated by the long man's earring in the right, and the woman's circular earring in the left ear. Fire, a symbol of both destruction and divine purifying grace, is held in the left upper hand, and also surrounds the group. The small drum in the right upper hand is supposed to suggest vibration, the first stage in evolution. The right lower hand is raised in assurance of protection to the worshipper, while the left lower hand points to the uplifted foot, the refuge of the suppliant. The monster trampled on personifies the powers of evil and illusion from which the deity delivers the soul. The composition as a whole is understood to represent the control of the operations of the universe by Siva.
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The greater part of the foregoing commentaries has nothing to do with the merits of the compositions as works of art. Any competent coppersmith can make to order rings symbolizing fire and other formal attributes in accordance with written rules, and such accessories, whether well or ill made, will be equally significant to the devout Hindu versed in the legends and metaphysics of his faith. The general lines of the principal image, too, are determined by pattern sketches, of which Dr. Coomaraswamy has published a specimen. Consequently, a perfectly correct group with all the needful apparatus for edification can be made passably well by any skilled bronze founder, whose work need not be anything higher than mere manufacture. The scope for the display of aesthetic feeling and creative skill, which distinguish an artist from a skilful mechanic, is restricted almost exclusively to the manner of rendering the action of dancing with passion, including, of course, the modelling of the principal figure. When various examples of the treatment of the prescribed theme are examined and compared they will be found to differ widely according to the degree of artistic power possessed by the maker of each. Among good examples may be classed Dr. Coomaraswamy's favourite in the Madras Museum, the Tanjore specimen (*ante*, 238), and No. 1 from Polonnāruwa (Plate LI). The No. 15 Polonnāruwa image (Fig. 188), without the ring of fire, is the most artistic of all. It is described as being 'the best finished of all the bronzes', and is deserving of the care spent on its production. If it could be freed from the horrible deformity of the extra arms, it might receive almost unqualified praise, but the monstrosity of the second left arm drawn across the breast, and calling for the surgeon's amputating knife to remove the diseased growth, spoils an otherwise elegant and admirable work.
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A third Polonnāruwa specimen (No. 24) is coarsely executed and of inferior quality. The same criticism applies to a second example in the Madras Museum, to another in the British Museum, and to the South Kensington image from Malabar.
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The ‘belle statue de bronze ancien’ in the Musée Guimet may be placed in the higher class.¹
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¹ The S. Kensington bronze, two feet in height, found long ago at Chāoghāt in Malabar, was presented by Jonathan Duncan, Governor of Bombay, to the India Office Museum, and thence has passed into the Indian Section of the Victoria and Albert Museum. It is engraved as Pl. XIV of Moor's *Hindu Pantheon* (1810; = frontispiece of Higginbotham's edition, Madras, 1864), but the engraving is not faithful, having been ‘improved’ by the artist. For the ‘belle statue’ see figure on p. 94 of the *Petit Guide Illustré du Musée Guimet*. The subject is often treated in stone sculpture.
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The standing image of Siva (No. 12), striking an attitude in another of his dances (*sandhyanirtta*), is gracefully posed, and well modelled, save for the excessive thickness of the arms. The monstrosity of the additional arms is a blot on an otherwise effective work (Fig. 189). No special pleading can justify those arms from the aesthetic point of view.
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FIG. 188. Siva Naṭarāja; No. 15, from Polonnāruwa, 2 feet high. (Photo. by Dr. A. Nell.)
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The figure of the Sun-god (No. 18), with a halo, holding a lotus bud in each hand, is dignified, and the type is unusual (Fig. 190).
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One ideal of the goddess Pārvatī, consort of Siva, is expressed in No. 7, with the characteristic Indian bend (Fig. 191). The image closely resembles that labelled as Lakshmī in the Musée Guimet (*Petit Guide Ill.*, plate p. 62).
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FIG. 189. Siva in *sandhyanirtta* dance; height 1 ft. 10 1/2 in.; No. 12, from Polonnāruwa (Colombo Museum). (Photo. by Dr. A. Nell.)
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FIG. 190. Sūrya, the Sun-god; height 1 ft. 5 1/2 in.; No. 18, from Polonnāruwa (Colombo Museum). (Photo. by Dr. A. Nell.)
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Another conception of Pārvatī (No. 20) is shown in Fig. 192. The figure and pose are natural and pleasing.
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An interesting group of images deals with popular Tamil saints, whose effigies have been identified by Mr. Arunachalam. Probably the best of this group is No. 16, representing ‘Sundara-murti Swāmi, an apostle and psalmist of Siva about A.D. 700. He was a native of Tiruvarur, near Negapatam in the Madras Presidency; called to
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FIG. 191. Pārvatī; height 1 ft. 8 in.; No. 23, from Polonnāruwa (Colombo Museum). (Photo. by Dr. A. Nell.)
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FIG. 192. Pārvatī; height 1 ft. 4½ in.; No. 20, from Polonnāruwa (Colombo Museum).
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be an apostle on his wedding-day, hence dressed in the clothes and ornaments of a bridegroom.’ The clothes are somewhat scanty. The artist has rendered with remarkable success the attitude and facial expression of religious ecstasy powerful enough to tear away a bridegroom from the side of his bride (Fig. 193). The image has strong claims to be considered the finest of the Polonnāruwa bronzes, or, at least, to be placed second only to the Naṭarāja, No. 15 (Fig. 188), which is the most highly finished in the collection.
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The bronze statuette of a monk with his begging-bowl (Fig. 194), found at Urulēwa, N. C. P., does not look very ancient. The style is stiff and formal.
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FIG. 193. Sundara-murti Swāmi, Tamil saint; height 1 ft. 8 in.; No. 16, from Polonnāruwa (Colombo Museum).
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FIG. 194. Bronze statuette of monk; from Urulēwa, N. C. P. (Photo. C. 353, A. S., Ceylon.)
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Mr. Still mentions as existing at Maḍukanda, N. P., 'a fine old bronze sedent image of Buddha, 7 feet high', and a rather smaller silver image (*A. S. Rep.*, 1905, p. 26).
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Certain small miscellaneous bronze images from Ceylon, of which the exact find-spots are not recorded, are of sufficient interest to deserve special notice. A little figure, presumably that of the Mahāyānist deity (if the expression be allowed) named Avalokitesvara or Padmapāni, only 3⅝ inches in height, belonging to Dr. Coomaraswamy, and ascribed by him to the sixth or seventh century, is regarded by the owner, and not without reason, as the best of all the Ceylonese images. He praises the 'perfection and abstraction of the style', claiming that 'the divine ideal is fully realized both in expression and in physical form'. The praise seems to be rather overstrained. By the kindness of Dr. Coomaraswamy I am permitted to reproduce his photograph (Fig. 195), already published by the owner in the *Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society* and the *Burlington Magazine*, and also by Mr. Havell under the name of Maitreya.
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[Figure: FIG. 195. Avalokiteśvara, or Padmapāṇi; from Ceylon. (Photo. by Dr. A. K. Coomaraswamy.)]
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[Figure: FIG. 196. Jambhala, or Kuvera, god of riches; from Ceylon. (Photo. by Dr. A. K. Coomaraswamy.)]
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Another excellent little image, 3⅛ inches high, likewise the property of Dr. Coomaraswamy, represents the minor deity Jambhala, or Kuvera, the well-contented god of riches (Fig. 196), whose effigy in various forms is frequently found in the ruins of Buddhist monasteries in India and Java (*ante*, pp. 115, 137, 205). His right hand grasps a fruit; the left rests upon the mongoose, or ichneumon, sacred to him. The owner's criticism is as follows:—
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'The artistic interest of this figure lies in its frank realism, contrasting with the idealistic treatment of the figures so far referred to. The God of Wealth, far less remote and hard to reach than so exalted a being as a Bodhisattva, is worshipped for material rather than spiritual benefits; he is represented as the very image of a fat trader seated in his booth awaiting customers. The patron saint of prosperity and trade is a comfortable, worldly person! The realistic treatment of the firm flesh is as
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masterly in its own way as the generalization of the more ideal types, such as the Avalokiteśvara.'¹
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¹ Coomaraswamy, 'Mahāyāna Buddhist Images from Ceylon and Java,' *J. R. A. S.*, 1909, p. 288. That valuable article, and another entitled 'Indian Bronzes' in *Burlington Magazine*, May, 1910, discuss in detail many images which cannot be noticed here. The two figured, which I have examined, are the best of those from Ceylon, and are superior to anything of the kind in the British Museum. Kuvera (= Jambhala = Vaiśravana) was chief of the Yakshas. He was specially honoured in Khotan and Chinese Turkestan generally. A manuscript from Turfan calls him 'the highest of the gods' (von Holstein, 'Tiśastvustik,' pp. 97, 122 *n.*, *Bibl. Buddhica*, No. xii, St. Pétersbourg, 1910). 'Jambhala of Ceylon' was known even in distant Nepāl (Foucher, *Iconographie bouddhique*, Pl. IX. 2).
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The Colombo Museum possesses many other bronze objects, including several Buddhas. One of these (Fig. 197), a Buddha 'of unique design' and uncertain date, found below Bādulla, possesses considerable merit. The nature of the object held in the left hand is obscure.²
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² A rough list of bronzes and other objects is printed in the *Catalogue of Finds, Archaeological Survey of Ceylon; deposited in the Colombo Museum*, 1906–7, p. 27, supplied by the Government of Ceylon. The *Guide* to the Museum (1905) is published in *Spolia Zeylanica*, Part IX. Bādulla is in the hill country; the image was found in the plain below.
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[Figure: FIG. 197. Bronze seated Buddha (Colombo Museum). (Photo. supplied by the Director.)]
Linked texts (7)
- Anurādhapura
- Mihintale
- Polonnaruwa
- Avalokitesvara
- Párvati
- Tanjore
- கோயிற் புராணம் — Umāpati Śivācārya, Tamil