Women in Sri Lankan Sculpture and Painting

Erotic art

Erotic art--Sri Lanka

Wall paintings--Buddhist art--Colombo National Museum--Sri Lanka

Painted on the walls of the Tivanka image house at Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka, are a man and woman having intimate physical relations. The scene an illustration of the Asamkha Jataka, is now obliterated, but this picture taken from a copy made in as early as 1909 can be seen at the National Museum in Colombo. The paintings of the Tivanka image house can be dated to the 12th or 13th century A.D.

Sirima Kiribamune

National Museum, Colombo, Sri Lanka

ca. 12th or 13th century A.D.

Period of study: 1986-1987

Version: 01/12/2012

Co-Author: Seneviratna, Harsha

Technical Officer: Wijesinghe, Lalith

Technical Assistant: Jayasundare, Subhashini

Photographer: Madanayake, I.S.

International Center for Ethnic Studies, Kandy, Sri Lanka

Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation

American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies, Colombo

All rights reserved by International Center for Ethnic Studies, Sri Lanka.

Forms part of Photographic documentation of Women as depicted in early Sri Lankan sculpture and painting / Slide in present collection

JPEG 2000

eng

image

PDWESLSP.S.131

ce