Treasures from the museums

  Statues 

🏛️The department of National Museums maintain ten museums devoted to the study and display of objects of cultural artistic and scientific interest pertaining Sri Lanka's pre - history, archaeology, zoology, entomology , geology, geology and palaeontology. 

 

Colombo National Museum🏛️

🏰The oldest and largest Museum in the country, established 1877. Best known for collection of antiques and objects of art. The library of the museum has more than 4,000 palm leaf manuscripts. Among the exhibits are the regalia of the King of Kandy; ancient and medieval jewellery;👑️💍📿

 rare collection of traditional masks;👺 wood and ivory carvings; an exquisite collection of Buddhist and Hindu Bronzes, temple frescoes; ceramics objects including VOC plates of the Dutch period; antique furniture; lacquered objects, ornate brass, bronze and silver objects; stone sculpture and lithic inscriptions. The recently refurbished and revamped Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa Galleries are well worth a visit.⏳

🚶For the visitor on a short tour, unable to visit the ancient cities of Sri Lanka, a visit to the Colombo Museum will give an idea of the history of the country and about our people. Moreover, In this Museum we can see a unique Bronze Bodhisathwa statue found from Anuradhapura 

 The statue that found from Anuradhapura 📌📍                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

This beautiful bronze statue, 46.7cm in height of a Bodhisattva was found from Thuparama

 monastery in Anuradhapura established by King Devanampiyatissa in the 3rd c. B.C. In the statue the Bodhisattva is shown in the triple flexed (tribhanga) posture raising his right hand in the katakahasta, while the left hand extended downwards in the varada hasta. The Bodhisattva is richly attired in princely garments including a elongated crown adorned with pearls and jewels. 💍👑️❤️‍🔥                                                 

                                                                                       

                                                                                    👑️  The map of the kingdom - Anuradhapura                                                                                               

                                                                         

                                                                                    

 The earrings are in the form of makaras releasing tassels. The body is sensitively modeled. This feature in combination with the elegantly flexed posture the clinging garment, and the sensuous folds of the pleats accentuate the gracefulness of the figure. This bronze has always been attributed to the Anuradhapura period although the stylized features are different from those of the Anuradhapura period and more commonly found in the statues of the Polonnaruwa period.

However investigations carried out reveal that it is more similar with the bronzes of the Anuradhapura period. Hence, it is difficult to assign a date with certainty to this icon. Some scholars assign it to the Anuradhapura period while others preferred to date it to the 12th century.  🍃🏰👑️📍