![]() Sri Lanka at this time gave a special place to divine beings called bodhisattvas. The statue of Tara is cast in one piece of solid bronze, that has been covered in gold. Her face tells you at once that she comes from south Asia.Ī History of the World is a partnership between the BBC and the British. She is about three quarters life-size, and she stands, as she always would have, on a plinth, so that as you look up at her, she benignly gazes down at you. And even now, when her gilding is rather worn, and she stands in the cool light of Bloomsbury, she still has a compelling lustre. When new, she must have been dazzling when she was seen under the Sri Lankan sun. ![]() 'I am not a religious person so I just see it as a wonderfully beautiful, and indeed quite sensuous, figure of a woman, and you can also see it is a work of extraordinary technical perfection.' (Richard Gombrich) The statue of Tara is cast in one piece of solid bronze, that has been covered in gold. ![]() Over the centuries many artists have given Tara physical form, but it's hard to imagine many more beautiful than the golden, nearly life-size, figure that now serenely presides over the long Asian gallery at the British Museum. If you were a Sri Lankan around 800 AD you would probably have turned, like the monks we've just heard, to Tara. And pretty well every religion has spirits or saints, gods or goddesses that can be called upon to see us through. ![]() We all need help to tackle the predicament of life, even the powerful and the privileged, whose private worlds I am focusing on this week. Bronze from Sri Lanka That's the sound of Buddhist monks chanting - and as you could perhaps hear they are invoking the name of Tara, the spirit of generous compassion. Episode 54 - Statue of Tara Statue of Tara (made between eighth and ninth century AD). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |