Arjuna Thantilage Phd

Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology – Sri Lanka

*This was first published in the Sirimal Lakdusinghe felicitation volume.

I am privilege to write an article to this special volume dedicated to Mr. Sirinimal Lakdusinghe. I am even more privileged that I being able to write this article for this special volume dedicated to him since it discusses one of his valuable discovery on two Hindu images by art historical means, based on scientific evidences.

Parvati image (figure 1) was among the large number of Hindu bronzes discoverd from Polonnaruva Siva Devale No 5 by the Archaeological Survey Department in the year 1908 (ASCAR 1908) . The Siva image with pedestal (figure 2) was among the collection of Hindu bronzes discovered by Dr. C.E. Godakumbura in 1961 from the same place, Polonnaruva Siva Devale No 5 (Godakumbura 1961).  Since from their discovery, these two images were deposited in the two separate museums. The Siva image and the pedestal were deposited at the archaeological museum, Anuradhapura and the Parvati image was deposited at the National museum, Colombo. Even though they had been separated and deposited in two places far apart over two decades, No scholar had even little suspicion on that they might have belong to a one installation. But the careful and sharp iconographical and art historical and technical observations by Lakdusinghe in 1983 had identified not only that these two images as belonging to one installation but also they have special features from which they separated from some other Hindu images found from Polonnaruva. He also agreed to O.C. Gangoly’s opinion on this Parvati image (Gangoly 1915) and his opinion was that these to images must belong to one installation and must have a Sri Lankan origin. i.e. the idea of an existence of Sri Lankan school of Hindu images (Lakdusinghe 2006).

This paper intends to discuss some scientific results on these two Hindu images obtained from the recent scientific study on Sri Lankan bronzes by myself (Thantilage 2008)

The results from the scientific analyses of these two Hindu images and their pedestal and also by comparing them with the results of other Hindu images found from Polonnaruva valuable information were able to uncover. Mainly these icons were subjected to the trace element, compositional and stable lead isotope analysis and by drawing scatter plots using the different parameters obtained the closely matching images in terms of the scientific results were identified. (Thantilage 2008).

As I have shown else where (ref), lead metal had been obtained from the same Mediterranean sources by Sri Lanka and South India during the contemporary period. So by considering only the lead isotope groupings of Hindu images found in Sri Lanka (figure) it was very difficult to identify the origin of an Polonnaruva Hindu icon. But if a set of icons grouped in terms both lead isotope and trace element results probably they may have more closely match and perhaps have same origin. When we see the scientific results of the Shiva and Parvati images and their pedestal, these two Hindu images have grouped very closely in group S3 in the trace element scatter plot of Fe/Ni Vs Fe/Ni scatter plot (in S3) and in the lead isotope image group MLG3 in the lead isotope ratio scatter plot of Pb^208/206 Vs Pb^207/206 (see figure) indicating perhaps a same origin. These lead isotope groupings has reconfirmed by getting the same groupings in the scatter plot of Pb^206/204 Vs Pb^207/206.

Further the same composition of major element and the trace elements component of the Siva and Parvati images indicate the use of same manufacturing technology and metals for both of these images. The pedestal of the images clearly differs in its composition from the images with high tin and low lead levels. The trace element component also differs from that of the images since specially having elevated levels of Fe, Ni, As and Zn elements. But interestingly, the Co/Ni Vs Fe/Ni scatter plot indicate the pedestal of the images (only the trace element analysis was possible) does not group with the images in S3 and instead group in the S1. I have shown extensively else where (ref) that the images in S1 group which are having the Co/Ni elemental ratio greater than 0.43 and make separate cluster in the scatter plot of Co/Ni Vs Fe/Ni have been made out of copper from the local Seruwila metal deposit. This fact is further supported by its composition being more or less consistent with the Anuradhapura period images in S1 group. It has the second highest content of tin (amount??) among the Hindu icons, which is higher than the average tin content of the Hindu images found in Sri Lanka.

These two images very closely match with the Ganesha image H95 in both lead isotope and trace element results, indicating all three figures may have a common origin. Interestingly trace element results show that these three Hindu images (H70, H93 and H95) have fallen exclusively into the trace element group S3, a group which is more popular with Sri Lankan images produced of later than the Anuradhapura period and are separated from the rest of the Hindu images in this study (see Figure 8). In other words it is clear that this copper source has not been used by any other Hindu image found in Sri Lanka. It is also vital to note that the pedestal (H94) of Siva Parvati images H70 and H93 had definitely been produced locally since it is belonging to the trace element group S1. It is a known fact that there is a possibility of having a separately produced pedestal for an image in the later period. But since this Siva and Parvati is an installation the pedestal is also an integral part of the installation. So these three Hindu images are very special and most probably may have a Sri Lankan origin. A contrasting difference in the metallurgy of Hindu images when compared with the Sri Lankan Anuradhapura and Polonnaruva Buddhist images was the use of a high amount of lead  (average of 14.72%) in the bronze alloy of the Hindu images (possibly having been made according to the South Indian recipe).

As mentioned earlier it is very important to note that the Ganesha image (figure) very closely match with the Siva and Parvati images and most probably these three images may have a same origin. Strikingly, Mr. Lakdusinghe who art historically studied the Ganesha image had identified that this Ganesha image may belong to the Sri Lankan school of Hindu sculptures (ref) . The discovery of Hindu images made out of Seruwila copper in my scientific study confirmed the existence of such a school.

Most of the Hindu images (ten out of seventeen images studied) found from Sri Lanka has the Co/Ni ratio between 0.28 – 0.35. This value matches with the South Indian Kalyadi slags analysis where the average Co/Ni = 0.33 (Sirinivasan 1999b: 209). So perhaps it would be possible to think that some of the Hindu images might have a South Indian origin or made with imported metals.

Bibliography

Bell H.C.P. ASCAR, Department of Archaeology, Colombo 1908

Godakumbura C.E. Bronzes from Polonnaruva, JRAS, Vol vii, Part 2

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