The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 24, 2024

The Paranirvana of Buddha, Gal Vihara, Polonnaruva, Ceylon

The Paranirvana of Buddha, Gal Vihara, Polonnaruva, Ceylon

1870–71
(British, d. 1874)
England, 19th century
albumen print
Image: 21.4 x 28.2 cm (8 7/16 x 11 1/8 in.); Matted: 35.6 x 45.7 cm (14 x 18 in.)
Gift of Louise S. Richards 1976.156
Location: not on view

Description

During the British colonial period in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), a 12th-century monastic establishment with a colossal stone sculpture of the reclining Buddha had fallen into ruins. The photographer’s intentional inclusion of a Sri Lankan man, leaning against a pillar at the front of the composition, and a colonial Englishman, clambering over Buddha’s body, underscores how differently they interact with the site. The Sri Lankan visitor views the ruins with devotional reverence; the Englishman treats it as a place of adventurous entertainment.
  • ?–1976
    Louise S. Richards, Oberlin, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1976–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 221
  • Text and Image in Southern Asia​ (Indian Painting and Himalayan rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26, 2022-March 5, 2023).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 245). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 31, 2013–June 30, 2014).
    Selection of Photography from the CMA, 1979. Beck Center, Lakewood, OH (1979).
    Year in Review, 1976. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 1-March 6, 1977).
  • {{cite web|title=The Paranirvana of Buddha, Gal Vihara, Polonnaruva, Ceylon|url=false|author=Joseph Lawton|year=1870–71|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1976.156