iNorton Simon MuseumPasadena
The Art of Kandy: Sri Lanka's Last Kingdom
Bronze, silver and ivory art from Kandy, Sri Lanka's last royal capital before British colonial rule, blending Buddhist devotion and royal patronage.
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The standing Buddha is 25 centimetres high, carved from ivory in the 18th century. It has broad shoulders, a stern face and stylised drapery, and like much Kandyan figure sculpture its eyes gaze straight at the viewer.
The show is 13 small, portable objects from the Norton Simon's own collection, from carved ivory to gem-studded silver made for the elite. Kandy was Sri Lanka's last independent kingdom, founded in 1469 and annexed into British Ceylon in 1815. Its kings married into South Indian royal families and traded with the Dutch on the coast. The museum's text says the works may have been made for the court or as offerings by Buddhist devotees.
It's one intimate gallery, included with admission ($20 for adults). Thirteen objects is the rare LA outing where the museum is shorter than the drive to it.
Editor's pick
Bronze, silver and ivory from Kandy, the Sri Lankan royal capital that held out until the British took it in 1815. Buddhist devotional figures hang beside court commissions, in a museum whose South Asian collection spans two thousand years.
Look for
The standing ivory Buddha
An 18th-century figure, 25 cm high, with traces of pigment, broad shoulders, a stern expression and stylised drapery, which the museum calls typical of Kandyan sculpture.
The gem-studded silver objects
Elaborate pieces made for the elite that show the skill of the silversmiths who likely worked in royal workshops.
Good for
- An Hour Or Less
- Nerding Out
Also at Norton Simon Museum
On now nearby
Image credits
5
- The Art of Kandy: Sri Lanka's Last KingdomCourtesy of Norton Simon Museum
- Sculpted Portraits from Ancient Egypt© The Trustees of the British Museum. All rights reserved
- Charles Ross: Spectrum 14Courtesy of Getty Center
- Stories from the Library: The Mirror of the MoonCourtesy of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
- Norton Simon MuseumJoe Mabel / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0