The bronze Statue of Tara from Sri Lanka is currently displayed in the special exhibition, “Ancient India: Living Heritage” at the British Museum. Donated to the British Museum in 1830 by Sir Robert Brownrigg, this nearly life-size sculpture of Tara was removed from Sri Lanka in 1820 when the former governor of British Ceylon returned to the UK. A Mahayana Buddhist goddess, Tara was an integral deity in the Mahayana pantheon and its monuments in Sri Lanka. Although now a stronghold of Theravada Buddhism, the island was once home to Mahayana Buddhist communities who valued such deities as seen in this solid-cast gilt bronze sculpture of Tara.
This panel brings together three different voices that frame the Statue of Tara in its multiple contexts, highlighting various aspects about the goddess and this sculpture as well as the milieu in which it was created and worshipped. The discussion highlights the history of its curation at the British Museum.
Organised by Dr Sujatha Meegama, Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Senior Lecturer in Buddhist Art History, The Courtauld.
Speakers:
Venerable Professor Mahinda Deegalle is a Professorial Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and Professor Emeritus at Bath Spa University. Trained in the History of Religions and Buddhist Studies at Harvard University and The University of Chicago, he held Numata Professorship at McGill University and NEH Professorship at Colgate University. He has conducted post-doctoral research at Kyoto University and been awarded grants by the British Academy / Leverhulme Trust, British Council, Fulbright and JSPS. He is the author of Popularizing Buddhism and editor of several volumes, including Philosophy, Ethics and Buddhist Practice (2023) and Buddhism and Humanitarian Law (2024).
Dr Sujatha Arundathi Meegama (The Courtauld) works on transcultural objects and sites in the Indian Ocean world. She is the author of Temples to the Buddha and the Gods: Transnational Dravida Tradition of Architecture in Sri Lanka (2024) and the editor of Sri Lanka: Connected Art Histories (Marg, 2017).
Dr Sushma Jansari is Curator Early South Asia at the British Museum, recently curated the new exhibition Ancient India: living traditions and is Vice Chair of Trustees at the Roald Dahl Museum. Previously, she was Lead Curator of the award-winning Manchester Museum South Asia Gallery in partnership with the British Museum (opened 2023), and Co-Investigator of the AHRC-funded Sloane Lab project (2021-24). Sushma has written widely on South Asian history, art and popular culture. She founded, produced and hosted The Wonder House podcast and shares her work with growing and engaged audiences on Instagram and TikTok.
