While in Colombo, Sri Lanka, for a couple of days, we treated ourselves and stayed in the unusually swanky (for us!) Steuart by Citrus Hotel. We figured we certainly deserved it after two back-to-back overnight flights from Denver via London!
The 5th and 6th century agricultural implements discovered in Sigiriya, another city we'd be traveling to soon, included scythes, axes, adzes, and knives in many sizes.
The ear picks and toothpicks were carried in a bunch by people. Glass frames and covers, and hair pins were also produced in ivory.
The 7th-8th century Pillar Capital with Carved Dwarfs was discovered in Anuradhapura. We saw more images like this when we visited the site several days later! You, too, will see them in a future post.
The coat-of-arms of the Dutch East India Company bore the 1795 date.
We then proceeded to another fan-cooled room upstairs to the Paintings Gallery. Our interest waned as we walked through the Textiles Gallery and Numismatics Gallery much more quickly than we might have it it hadn't been so hot. We knew ahead of time the museum wasn't air conditioned, had no toilets or lockers but after a couple of hours, the heat got to us and our enjoyment flagged.
The Uva District flag showed a decorated figure of a swan holding a flower spray by its beak.
Surprisingly, there was another large collection of Ivory Carvings upstairs so that revived us! As elephant tusk was such a hard and solid white material, it had been used since the beginning of civilization to produce ornaments and sculptures. Ivory carving was even practiced by the royalty as a hobby.
In the Middle Ages, ivory was used to produce carved ornaments and for utilitarian objects. Ivory chests for storing jewelry were some of the special objects that ivory carvers made to practice their craft. Some of the ivory chests from the Portuguese and Dutch eras were classic examples of creative products carved with historical and religious events and decorative motifs.
It was the belief of village folk that the diseases relevant to the imbalance of the doshas were caused by the Yakkas or devils. The rituals to cure and get relief were performed to send away the devils and to heal from the disease were especially popular among the people in southern Sri Lanka.
Masks which were used to masquerade as Sanni demons in these rituals were called Sanni masks. It was a custom that the 18 Sanni dances should be performed despite the fact that the patient was suffering from one disease. Sanni masks used in Sanni dances varied from province to province.
Next post: A thorough tour of Colombo via tuk tuk!
Posted on March 24th, 2020, a week after returning home to Denver after just two weeks into our four-month long trip to Asia and the Middle East because of the Covid-19 pandemic. How our world has changed in such a short time. May each of us take the necessary precautions to keep ourselves and everyone around us safe in these troubled times.
I am concurrently finally trying to finish writing the posts from our exciting trip to Ireland and the UK last fall! If you'd like to read about that far more peaceful time, here's a link to the latest post.
https://bergersadventures7.blogspot.com/2020/03/925-n-wales-national-slate-museum.html
It's almost embarrassing to say that we hired a three-wheeled tuk tuk via Uber for only 146LKR (i.e. Sri Lankan rupees) which equated to just .78 to take us to The National Museum of Colombo! The driver immediately showed us a flyer of various sights in the city he could take us to after we were done visiting the museum for an additional 500LKR per hour or about $2.75. It was a pretty hard sell but we figured the deal was hard to beat even if we originally hadn't planned on seeing everything he suggested we see because they were so spread out throughout the city.
Beira Lake:
Yoga, the driver, mentioned that there was a huge amount of construction going on in the country's de facto capital. Money for the construction boom had come mostly from India and Thailand.
Sri Lanka's premier cultural institution was founded in 1877 by Sir William Henry Gregory, the British Governor of Ceylon as Sri Lanka was then called.
A large 9th century limestone image of Buddha in the Samadhi pose greeted us as we entered. A sign indicated the "composure of the image connotes the perfect mental state of the Buddha."
The 9th century Goddess Durga was discovered in Anuradhapura, a city we were looking forward to visiting in northern Sri Lanka a week later.
The existence of a nomadic hunting and agriculture lifestyle in Sri Lanka from about 17,000 years ago was clear from the remains of wheat and barley from ancient grasslands.
The Earthen Canoe Burial was excavated in 2010 and represented one of the four ancient burial types found so far in Sri Lanka. Charcoal found in it was radio carbon dated to 360 BC. In this type of burial, a pit was dug and the walls of the burial were built with clay and then burnt. Later, burial goods were placed in the burial chamber and the goods were burnt.
The 5th and 6th century agricultural implements discovered in Sigiriya, another city we'd be traveling to soon, included scythes, axes, adzes, and knives in many sizes.
Buddhism was introduced in Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BC due to the missionary activities of Emperor Asoka of India. The community of monks increased its numbers into thousands withing a couple of hundred years. The 7th century carved marble plaque depicted three Buddha images and also came from Sigiriya.
Hinduism: The presence of Tamil rulers in Sri Lanka from pre-Christian times indicated the practice of the Hindu faith but in a subservient tone because of the pre-eminence of Buddhism. The discovery of Hindu bronzes from the 10th century AD provided significant evidence of the prevalence of Hinduism during the era. From then on, Hinduism became a major religion in Sri Lanka.
These 9th century Bodhisattva Sandals, along with other great bronzes and standing and seated bronzes, came from Anuradhapura. The rear part of the shoe was carved separately and fixed to the front section. They were likely made for a standing Bodhisattva that was three meters or about nine feet tall and also made of bronze.
The 2nd-3rd century Queen Maya's Dream was a marble slab from south India and depicted Queen Maya's dream when Siddhartha entered the mother's womb in the form of a white elephant. Maya was lying on the right attended by female attendants. The section depicting the elephant was broken off.
Sculpture: Except for a few portraits of Anuradhapura kings and motifs, most other sculptures found in Sri Lanka were of a sacred nature and belonged to either Buddhism, Hinduism or popular beliefs. Though early sculptures were apparently influenced by Indian models, the island nation was able to begin an indigenous tradition. Sri Lankan Buddha images were the most prolific religious icons from the beginning of the Christian era. They ranged in size from miniatures to colossal sizes and different materials.
As the museum comprised several wings, we left one to walk a few steps outside to the next wing.
These 12th century Decorative Elements of plinths and terraces of monuments were made of coral, stucco, brick and stone and came from Polonnaruwa, another place we would be visiting soon.
The Royal Seat was donated to a Ceylon king by Dutch Governor Thomas Vanree who ruled the country's coastal area in 1693. It was then used by six other kings until 1815 when the country's last king was captured by English soldiers. The sword, belt, footstool and scepter were sent to England with the royal seat before being returned to Sri Lanka in 1934 by King George V.
The museum had a magnificent collection of ivory items. It was described by the museum as "perhaps the best to be seen in any museum in the world." Combs included motifs of female dancers, lotus designs, the god of love and courting couples. The latter suggested scenes of the fertility cult.
The ear picks and toothpicks were carried in a bunch by people. Glass frames and covers, and hair pins were also produced in ivory.
Pill and cosmetic boxes: Ivory boxes used for storing pills or cosmetics were created in various shapes and beautifully decorated with lacquer work.
Door frame decorations: Most of the religious shrines had their door frames decorated with carved ivory panels. Sometimes, decorated panels consisted of figures of divinities depicted on either side of the door frames.
The history of the Stone Antiquities Gallery at the museum began in 1877 when the museum opened. Within a decade, many other stone antiquities were collected, ranging from sculpture of Buddha, Hindu gods and other divinities.
The 7th-8th century Pillar Capital with Carved Dwarfs was discovered in Anuradhapura. We saw more images like this when we visited the site several days later! You, too, will see them in a future post.
I was surprised to learn that Arabic inscriptions had been found in Sri Lanka from both its maritime regions and its hinterland. Most were tombstones that dated between the 9th to the 15th centuries. The script used was generally Kufi but other scripts were also found. This exquisitely carved limestone slab was decorated with elaborate calligraphy.
The Portuguese intervention in Sri Lanka from 1594-1658 in trade, political, religious and social affairs left an indelible stamp on the island.
After the Portuguese, the Dutch played an important role in trade and commerce from 1649-1796 through the Dutch East India Company. Over time, their habits, language, art, architecture and religion influenced Sri Lankan society on a large scale. Following European traditions, the Dutch also practiced funerary customs by interring the dead in and around the churches and installed tombstones.
Model of an Ancient Terrace: Ancient architectural remains indicated that the terraces and porches of religious buildings were ornamented with motifs of elephant heads that alternated with lotus designs and squatting lions.
In another gallery were 18th century Pethikada Cloth Paintings or original paintings on cloth. They depicted Buddha's omnipresence and universality, a theme adopted in various part of the Buddhist world. The pethikada was meant to be hung on a wall as a visual description of Buddha's teachings.
I was especially intrigued by the museum's collection of Standards and Banners. From the beginning of civilization, different types of symbols were used by various tribes, states and provinces to indicate their respective identity. All countries use symbols to reflect their identity. Sri Lanka adopted lion flags from ancient times with the lion holding a sword or sometimes a decorative whip. Different types of natural figures of animals and birds popular to the areas were used as symbols.
The Elephant Flag was used by the chieftain in charge of the procession in the town of Kandy, our next destination.
In the Middle Ages, ivory was used to produce carved ornaments and for utilitarian objects. Ivory chests for storing jewelry were some of the special objects that ivory carvers made to practice their craft. Some of the ivory chests from the Portuguese and Dutch eras were classic examples of creative products carved with historical and religious events and decorative motifs.
Ceremonial fans and ritual objects: Decorated ceremonial fans were offered to Buddhist prelates who achieved high ranks in the monk community. The long handles and the fans' finials were usually crafted in ivory usually decorated with inlaid art motifs and lacquer paintwork.
One of the most intricate ivory pieces was this Bullock Cart from the 19th century that was typical from north India. The roof was in the design of a north Indian vimana shrine.
Also of interest was the museum's large collection of masks used in dances. As we approached this darkened display, all of a sudden the Veneration Ritual Offering Dance began, complete with lights and music, much to our surprise!
Sanni Masks: A disease or illness was identified as Sanniya in village society and was caused by the imbalance of the three doshas, i.e. air energy, water energy and fire energy.
Steven and I were so glad to spend a couple of hours roaming through the excellent museum as its treasures provided a superb introduction to our understanding of Sri Lanka.
Posted on March 24th, 2020, a week after returning home to Denver after just two weeks into our four-month long trip to Asia and the Middle East because of the Covid-19 pandemic. How our world has changed in such a short time. May each of us take the necessary precautions to keep ourselves and everyone around us safe in these troubled times.
I am concurrently finally trying to finish writing the posts from our exciting trip to Ireland and the UK last fall! If you'd like to read about that far more peaceful time, here's a link to the latest post.
https://bergersadventures7.blogspot.com/2020/03/925-n-wales-national-slate-museum.html
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