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Statue Of Tara
The Statue of Tara is a gilt-bronze sculpture of Tara that dates from the 7th–8th century AD in Sri Lanka. Some argue it was looted from the last King of Kandy when the British annexed Kandy in the early nineteenth century. It was given to the British Museum in 1830 by the former British Governor of Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was then known), Robert Brownrigg. Background Buddhism has had a continuous history on the island of Sri Lanka ever since the third century BC. The figure dates to the period of Anuradhapura Kingdom founded in 377 BC by King Pandukabhaya. Buddhism played a strong role in the Anuradhapura period, influencing its culture, laws, and methods of governance. Tara shows evidence of the cultural interaction of Buddhism with Hinduism. Tara had been a Hindu mother goddess but was redesigned for a new role within Buddhism. Sri Lanka today is predominantly Theravada Buddhist country.
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British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present.Among the national museums in London, sculpture and decorative art, decorative and applied art are in the Victoria and Albert Museum; the British Museum houses earlier art, non-Western art, prints and drawings. The National Gallery holds the national collection of Western European art to about 1900, while art of the 20th century on is at Tate Modern. Tate Britain holds British Art from 1500 onwards. Books, manuscripts and many works on paper are in the British Library. There are significant overlaps between the coverage of the various collections. Established in 1753, the British Museum was the first public national museum. In 2023, the museum received 5,820,860 visitors, 42% more than the previous y ...
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Avalokiteśvara
In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (meaning "the lord who looks down", International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), also known as Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World") and Chenrezig (in Tibetan), is a Bodhisattva#Bhūmis (stages), tenth-level bodhisattva associated with great compassion (''Karuṇā, mahakaruṇā''). He is often associated with infinite light Amitabha Buddha. Avalokiteśvara has numerous Great 108 manifestations and is depicted in various forms and styles. In some texts, he is even considered to be the source and divine creator of all Hindu deities (such as Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma, Saraswati, Bhumi (goddess), Bhudevi, Varuna,..etc). While Avalokiteśvara was depicted as male in India, in East Asian Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara is most often depicted as a female figure known as Guanyin (in Chinese). In Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, he is known as Kannon, Gwaneum, and Quan Âm, respectively. Guanyin is also an important figure in other East Asian religions, particularly Chinese folk rel ...
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Sri Lankan Art
Visual arts in Sri Lanka refers to a variety of visual art forms, including as painting, drawing, sculpture architecture and other visual arts from the ancient time to modern Sri Lanka. The history of visual art of Sri Lanka has long history, starting from the 2nd or 3rd century BC to the present day. See also * Kandyan Era Frescoes References External links {{Asian topic, , art Sri Lankan art Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ... History of art in Sri Lanka ...
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Buddhist Sculpture
Buddhist art is visual art produced in the context of Buddhism. It includes depictions of Gautama Buddha and other Buddhas and bodhisattvas, notable Buddhist figures both historical and mythical, narrative scenes from their lives, mandalas, and physical objects associated with Buddhist practice, such as vajras, bells, stupas and Buddhist temple architecture. Buddhist art originated in the north of the Indian subcontinent, in modern India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, with the earliest survivals dating from a few centuries after the historical life of Siddhartha Gautama from the 6th to 5th century BCE. As Buddhism spread and evolved in each new host country, Buddhist art followed in its footsteps. It developed to the north through Central Asia and into Eastern Asia to form the Northern branch of Buddhist art, and to the east as far as Southeast Asia to form the Southern branch of Buddhist art. In India, Buddhist art flourished and co-developed with Hindu and Jain art, with cave ...
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Asian Sculptures In The British Museum
Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asia ** Asian (cat), a cat breed similar to the Burmese but in a range of different coat colors and patterns * Asii (also Asiani), a historic Central Asian ethnic group mentioned in Roman-era writings * Asian option, a type of option contract in finance * Asyan, a village in Iran See also * * * East Asia * South Asia * Southeast Asia * Asiatic (other) Asiatic refers to something related to Asia. Asiatic may also refer to: * Asiatic style, a term in ancient stylistic criticism associated with Greek writers of Asia Minor * In the context of Ancient Egypt, beyond the borders of Egypt and the cont ...
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8th-century Sculptures
The 8th century is the period from 701 (represented by the Roman numerals DCCI) through 800 (DCCC) in accordance with the Julian Calendar. In the historiography of Europe the phrase the long 8th century is sometimes used to refer to the period of circa AD 660–820. The coast of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula quickly came under Islamic Arab domination. The westward expansion of the Umayyad Empire was famously halted at the siege of Constantinople by the Byzantine Empire and the Battle of Tours by the Franks. The tide of Arab conquest came to an end in the middle of the 8th century.Roberts, J., '' History of the World'', Penguin, 1994. In Europe, late in the century, the Vikings, seafaring peoples from Scandinavia, begin raiding the coasts of Europe and the Mediterranean, and go on to found several important kingdoms. In Asia, the Pala Empire is founded in Bengal. The Tang dynasty reaches its pinnacle under Chinese Emperor Xuanzong. The Nara period begins in Jap ...
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7th-century Sculptures
The 7th century is the period from 601 through 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. The spread of Islam and the Muslim conquests began with the unification of Arabia by the Islamic prophet Muhammad starting in 622. After Muhammad's death in 632, Islam expanded beyond the Arabian Peninsula under the Rashidun Caliphate (632–661) and the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750). The Muslim conquest of Persia in the 7th century led to the downfall of the Sasanian Empire. Also conquered during the 7th century were Syria, Palestine, Armenia, Egypt, and North Africa. The Byzantine Empire suffered setbacks during the rapid expansion of the Caliphate and a mass incursion of Slavs in the Balkans which reduced its territorial limits. The decisive victory at the Siege of Constantinople in the 670s led the empire to retain Asia Minor, which ensured the existence of the empire. In the Iberian Peninsula, the 7th century was known as the ''Siglo de Concilios'' (century o ...
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National Museum Of Colombo
The Colombo National Museum, also known as the Sri Lanka National Museum, is a museum in Colombo and the largest in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1877 and maintained by the Department of National Museums, it holds collections of significant importance to Sri Lanka, such as the regalia of the Kandyan monarchs, as well as many other exhibits relating the country's cultural and natural heritage. History The Colombo Museum, as it was initially called, was established on 1 January 1877. Its founder was Sir William Henry Gregory the British Governor of Ceylon. The Royal Asiatic Society was instrumental in bringing to the notice of Gregory on his appointment as governor in 1872 the need for a public museum, with some difficulty the approval of the legislative council was obtained within a year. The Government architect of the Public Works Department, James George Smither (1833–1910) was able to prepare the plans for a new structure in the Italian Architectural style. The constru ...
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Kandyan Convention
In the history of Sri Lanka, the Kandyan Convention () was a treaty signed on 2 March 1815 between the British governor of Ceylon, Sir Robert Brownrigg, and the chiefs of the Kandyan Kingdom, British Ceylon, whereas, according to the Sinhala version of the Convention, the signatories were the chiefs of Sihale , for the deposition of King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha and ceding of the kingdom's territory to the British Crown. It was signed in the Magul Maduwa (Royal Audience Hall) of the Royal Palace of Kandy. Background The king, of South Indian ancestry, faced powerful opposition from the Sinhalese chieftains who sought to limit his power. A successful coup was organized by the chieftains, ending 2358 years of self-rule on the island and resulting in the imprisonment of the king in Vellore. The treaty is unique in that it was not signed by the monarch on the throne but by members of his court and other dignitaries of the kingdom. The convention gained a degree of infamy when, ...
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Batticaloa
Batticaloa (, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu'', ; , ''Maḍakalapuwa'', ) is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the Batticaloa District. The city is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka and is a major commercial centre. It is on the east coast, south of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island. Pasikudah is a popular tourist destination situated northwest with beaches and flat year-round warm-water shallow-lagoons. Etymology Batticaloa is a Portuguese language, Portuguese derivation. The original name of the region being the Tamil language, Tamil "Matakkalappu" (translation: ''Muddy Swamp''). According to Mattakallappu Manmiyam (மட்டக்களப்பு மான்மியம்) the word Mattakkallpu consists Tamil words "Mattu" (மட்டு) Matta-derived from "Mattam" (மட்டம்) means 'flat' and geographical name KaLappu. Mukkuwa named this place as KaLappu-Mattam or b ...
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Trincomalee
Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast of the island overlooking the Trincomalee Harbour, Trincomalee has been one of the main centres of Sri Lankan Tamil dialects, Sri Lankan Tamil speaking culture on the island for nearly a millennium. With a population of 99,135, the city is built on a peninsula of the same name, which divides its inner and outer harbours. It is home to the famous Koneswaram temple from where it developed and earned its historic Tamil name ''Thirukonamalai''. The town is home to other historical monuments such as the Pathirakali Amman Temple, Bhadrakali Amman Temple, Trincomalee, the Trincomalee Hindu Cultural Hall and, opened in 1897, the R. K. M. Sri Koneswara Hindu College, Trincomalee Hindu College. Trincomalee is also the site of the Trincomalee railway s ...
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Lotus Flower
''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as the pink lotus, sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant taxon, extant species of aquatic plant in the Family (biology), family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often refers to members of the family Nymphaeaceae. The lotus belongs in the order Proteales. Lotus plants are adapted to grow in the flood plains of slow-moving rivers and delta areas. Stands of lotus drop hundreds of thousands of seeds every year to the bottom of the pond. While some sprout immediately and most are eaten by wildlife, the remaining seeds can remain dormant for an extensive period of time as the pond silts in and dries out. During flood conditions, sediments containing these seeds are broken open, and the dormant seeds rehydrate and begin a new lotus colony. It is cultivated in nutrient-rich, loamy, and often flooded soils, requiring warm temperatures and specific planting depths, with propagat ...
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