Asia Society Home Asia Society Home
SOUTH ASIAN OBJECTS FROM THE COLLECTION
INDIA
Sculpture from the Kushan Period
Sculpture from North India, 5th-7th Centuries
Jain sculpture
Sculpture of the Pala Period
Stone Sculpture from Hindu Temples
Sculptures from South India, 8th-9th Centuries
Bronze Sculpture of the Chola Period
Art for the Mughal and Rajput Courts
Hindu Temple Hangings
Buddhist Painting from India, Nepal, and Tibet
NEPAL
Buddhist Painting from India, Nepal, and Tibet
Sculpture from Nepal
PAKISTAN
Sculpture from the Kushan Period
SRI LANKA
Two Bodhisattvas from Sri Lanka
Two Bodhisattvas from Sri Lanka

According to tradition, Buddhism arrived in Sri Lanka around the middle of the 3rd century B.C.E. and it was soon the dominant religious force on the island, as it is today. The dating of early Buddhist sculptures from Sri Lanka remains problematic due to the lack of inscribed or dated images and only two broad stylistic categories exist. Earlier sculptures are often classified as in the style of Anuradhapura, named after the city that was the capital from about the 3rd century B.C.E. through the 10th century C.E. Many later works are categorized as Polonnaruwa style, also named for the location of the capital (993-1235), which was moved after Sri Lanka was attacked by the powerful Chola empire of southern India.

Two sculptures in the Asia Society's collection show some of the stylistic and iconographic variation in Anuradhapura-style sculptures and suggest that there were complex interrelationships between the many regional styles in South and Southeast Asian Buddhist art during this period. Sri Lanka's strategic position on the maritime trade routes meant that influences from other cultures were constantly present.

  1 thru 2 of 2  
view text only list


Bodhisattva


Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
Home |  South Asia |  Himalaya |  Southeast Asia |  China & Mongolia |  Korea |  Japan
Treasures |  Guided Tour |  Timeline |  Search
About the Asia Society | The Rockefellers and the Asia Society | Site Map
Credits | ©Copyright 2007 Asia Society