Cleveland Museum of Art

The Paranirvana of Buddha, Gal Vihara, Polonnaruva, Ceylon

Joseph Lawton

Date

1870–71

Medium

albumen print

Culture

England, 19th century

Department

Photography

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

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.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.