SRI LANKA, POLONNARUVA PERIOD, 12TH CENTURY

The simple and pure styling of this Buddha figure can be traced to the politico-religious upheavals in Sri Lanka in the 10th and 11th centuries, when the Chola Empire under King Rajaraja invaded and conquered the northern portion of the island. Buddhism was nearly wiped out during this period of occupation, as the Cholas as a rule only supported the Brahmanical temples, and in some cases, destroyed Buddhist monasteries. When the Sinhalese finally won back control of Sri Lanka in the late 11th century, they sent for Theravedic Buddhist monks from Burma to help reestablish the religion on the island, and the conservative styling of their religious sculpture, as seen here, changed little over the subsequent centuries. For further discussion of the stylistic conservatism, see P. Pal, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, vol. III, 2004, pp. 56-57, cat. nos. 44-47.