Veheragala Seated Buddha Statue

Veheragala Seated Buddha Statue
The Veheragala Seated Buddha Statue (Sinhala: වෙහෙරගල හිඳි බුද්ධ ප්‍රථිමාව) is presently on the display in the Gallery of Anuradhapura Period in Colombo National Museum, Sri Lanka.

This gilt bronze was discovered along with a group of Buddhist images (Bodhisattva Statue, Standing Buddha Statue etc.) from Veheragala monastery in Anuradhapura District (Chutiwongs et al., 2007). It was later brought to the present location for conservation.

Seated on a lotus pedestal, the Buddha is depicted in the Veerasana posture with hands in Samadhi mudra (Chutiwongs et al., 2007). The robe worn by the Buddha closely touches the body of him and its pleats are shown by regular linear ridges (Chutiwongs et al., 2007). The right shoulder is naked and the pleated edge of the robe has been placed in front of the left chest. The face is round and the half-closed eyes are inlaid with crystals (Chutiwongs et al., 2007). The head covered with snail-shell curls has a slightly raised Usnisha surmounted by a Siraspata (the flame of knowledge). The empty niche on the Siraspata indicates that it had been embedded with a precious stone (Chutiwongs et al., 2007). The style of this image fall in line with the Standing Buddha Statue discovered from the same site (Chutiwongs et al., 2007).

The statue is 33.5 cm in height (Chutiwongs et al., 2007). It has been dated by scholars to the 9th century A.D. (Chutiwongs et al., 2007).

References
1) Chutiwongs, N.; Prematilleke, L.; Silva, R., 2007. Sri Lanka Murthi: Buddha (Sri Lanka Sculpture: Buddha). Central Cultural Fund. Ministry of Cultural Affairs. pp.86-87.

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This page was last updated on 23 October 2022
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