Toluvila Buddha Statue

The Toluvila Buddha Statue (Sinhala: තොළුවිල බුද්ධ ප්‍රතිමාව; Tamil: தொலுவில சிலை) is a limestone Buddha statue discovered from Toluvila Monastery in Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka (Prematilaka & Hewage, 2018). The statue is currently on display in the entrance lobby of Colombo National Museum. It is considered one of the best-preserved ancient Buddha images so far discovered in the country (Rambukwella, 2014).

History

The statue was found among the ruins at Toluvila Monastery situated to the east of the present Anuradhapura railway station. It was discovered in 1890 by H.C.P. Bell, the then Archaeological Commissioner of Ceylon. In 1963, the statue was brought to Colombo Museum and placed in the museum's entrance lobby by N. B. M. Seneviratne, the then-acting Director of the National Museum (Rambukwella, 2014).

The Toluvila Buddha statue belongs to the 8th century A.D. (Prematilaka & Hewage, 2018; Rambukwella, 2014).

Statue

The statue depicting the Buddha in Samadhi pose is 5 feet 9 inches in height and bears features belonging to the Abhayagiri School of Art (Smith, 1911; Wikramagamage, 2004).

See also

# Toluvila Guard Stone Inscription

References

1) Prematilaka, L., Hewage, R., 2018. A guide to the National Museum, Colombo: Department of National Museum. ISBN: 978-955-578-035-3. pp.4-5.
2) Rambukwella, M.W.C.N.K., 2014. Heritage representation in culturally diverse societies: a case study of the Colombo National Museum in Sri Lanka (Doctoral dissertation, School of Museum Studies). pp.165, 256,326.
3) Smith, V.A., 1911. A history of fine art in India and Ceylon: from the earliest times to the present day. Clarendon Press. p.94.
4) Wikramagamage, C., 2004. Heritage of Rajarata: Major natural, cultural and historic sites: Colombo. Central Bank of Sri Lanka. p.156.

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This page was last updated on 14 January 2023