Category Archives: ancient civilisations

June 17, 2022 · 7:58 pm

Sandadas Coperahewa’s Lifework

A Bibliography of Published/Unpublished Work by Sandadas Coperahewa (1923 – 2022)


Books:
*  යුර ෝපා කලාරේ ලුහුඬු ඉතිහාසරේ සිංහල රපරැළිය හා යුර ෝපා කලා රහළ කලා සසදුව (1958)
[The Sinhala Translation of R.H. Wilenkski’s A Miniature History of European Art and a Comparative Study of European and Sinhalese Art]
*   රෙරේ හිමි සෙරුව ( 1991) …. [A commemorative poem on Ven. Pamburana Metteyya Thera of Vajirarama]
*   ජගේ කලාකරු කතන්ද – 1 : රලරයෝනාරදෝ දා වින්ි (1992)
*   ජගේ කලාකරු කතන්ද – 2 : ෙයිකල් ඇන්ිරලෝ ( 1997)
*   ජගේ කලාකරු කතන්ද – 3 : ෆාරයල් ( 1998) …………………. A series of books on World famous artists – Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael 

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June 17, 2022 · 3:38 pm

Vale: Two Appreciations of Sandadas Coperahewa

Mevan Pieris, presenting the Funeral Oration for Sandadas Coperahewa, teacher of S.Thomas’ College Mt Lavinia, Tuesday 7th June 2022.... [with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi]

We are gathered here this evening to pay our final respects to a great teacher. In my days in the School by the sea in the 1950s and 1960s, Mr Sandadas Coperahewa was my revered teacher in art and Sinhala, and I thought I should pay a tribute to him as he is the last of my teachers to depart with all other sacred spirits who taught me having gone ahead.

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April 9, 2022 · 8:36 pm

Buddhist Temples in Lanka: Evocative Thoughts

Uditha Devapriya, in The Island, 9 April 2022, … With input from and photographs by Manusha Lakshan … & bearing this title  “Some reflections on the temples of the South”

The social and cultural history of Buddhist temples in Sri Lanka has been the object of study for well over a century. Far from receding into a world of their own, these temples occupied a prominent place in the world around them. Buddhist monks lived under a code of piety and self-denial, and they operated under their own rules and customs. Yet despite being cut off from mundane concerns, they were very much linked to the society they hailed from. Granted entire villages for their upkeep, the clergy made use of the social institutions of their time, most prominently caste, to maintain their hold.

 

 Ceityagiri, 

Dharmasalava, Pushparama Continue reading →

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April 9, 2022 · 12:33 am

The Stupas of Anuradhapura: Reflections

Chryshane Mendis, whose chosen title is “Living landscapes or Ruined landscapes? A Reflection through the Stupas of  Anuradhapura”

 The approach I am taking in this article is a subjective interpretative one based on my study experience of landscape approaches. I will be looking at the three main historical stupas of Anuradhapura, the Ruwanwalisaya, the Abeyagiri Stupa and the Jethawanarama Stupa in relation to their current conservation and restoration status from a landscape perspective. I attempt not, to take the reader on a strict academic pathway, but on a personal thought provoking journey in this article.

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March 11, 2022 · 2:01 pm

Galle Fort Renovations Completed ….. Volaare! Cantaare!

Item in The Daily Financial Times, 19 March 2022, bearing this title “UDA completes Rs. 210 m beautification of Galle Fort area”

The Ministry of Urban Development and Housing has carried out renovations in Galle Fort on the instruction of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa who is the minister in charge of the subject. The Urban Development Authority which carried out the renovations has done so in a manner that would preserve the antiquities and heritage of Galle Fort. This was done with the assistance of the Department of Archaeology and the Galle Heritage Foundation.

 

 

 

 

 

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March 9, 2022 · 9:05 pm

Fashioning History in Sri Lanka: Controversies

Michael Roberts

Computer generated 3D illustration with a Portuguese Caravel of the Fifteenth Century

Abstract of the article below: Two arrival stories in the long span of the island’s history will provide the foundations for reflections on history-making in the modern era. Episode One will pursue my own intellectual trail in the 1980s in fashioning an interpretation of the story of the arrival of the Portuguese and my subsequent confrontations in print with KM de Silva on this issue in the 1990s. Episode Two essays an interpretation of the advent of Vijaya retailed in the Pali & Sinhala chronicles as a genesis story of the same order as the tale of Adam and Eve: contending that it is not a tale with any factual basis, but one that conveys a mythic truth for its authors and ‘faithful’ listeners. It is, thus, a morality-tale about the magical implantation of civilised culture and state-forms within the island. This interpretation, however, has shortcomings and will benefit from the correctives imposed by Godfrey Gunatilleke’s exposition of the multi-faceted symbolism associated with this myth.

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February 25, 2022 · 4:57 pm

Gal Oya and Its Boat Safari … with Swimmg Elephants

Gal Oya National Park in Sri Lanka is home to elephants that swim from island to island in search of food. It’s a unique spectacle that few are lucky to witness. Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/aeglecreations Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/aeglecreati… #srilanka #elephants #swimmingelephants #wildlife #srilankawildlife #wildsrilanka #nature #elephantsofsrilanka #wildlifedocumentary #documentary #sosrilanka #srilankatourism #galoya

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February 22, 2022 · 11:24 pm

Robert Knox’s Journeys in Ceylon and the World in the 17th Century: One

Thiru Arumugam, in The Ceylankan, vol 25/1, February 2022 , where the title reads thus “A three-hundred-and-forty-year-old book about Ceylon – Part 1″

There exists a three hundred-and-forty-year old book about Ceylon which was published in 1681. Although there are other books about Ceylon in other European languages written in the 17th century, this is the oldest book about Ceylon in English. Other books of this genre include the manuscript of Fernao de Queyroz’s book in Portuguese titled “The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon” which was completed in 1687 but the author died a few months later in Goa and the book was never published until Father SG Perera translated it into English and published it in 1930. Another book is by Phillippus Baldeus titled “A true and exact Description of the Great Island of Ceylon” which was published in 1672, but this was in the Dutch language.

An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon, Continue reading →

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February 1, 2022 · 11:38 pm

British Imperial Pillage? The Parthenon Marbles

An Item in the Archaelogy News Network, 20 October 2021, with this title  “Trophies For The Empire: The Case Of The Parthenon Sculptures”

A recently published article by eminent Professor David Rudenstine at New York’s University Cardozo Law School examines the cultural property dispute between Greece and Great Britain over the Parthenon Sculptures taken to London in the early 1800s by the British ambassador, Lord Elgin. The article specifically assesses the legality of their appropriation and argues that, contrary to conventional narrative, there is no evidence that establishes that Ottoman officials gave Elgin prior or subsequent written permission to remove the Parthenon Sculptures from the edifice. Three translations of the document were said to have been made (Ottoman to Italian, then Italian to English), however the English document has since been lost.

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January 31, 2022 · 12:33 am

The Black Fort and the Many Gems within Galle Fort

Juliet Coombe, in Daily News, 28 January 2022, where the title reads thus “Santa Cruz – The Portuguese Black Fort Of Galle”

Walking along the ancient walls it is easy to distinguish the black smoke covered walls of the Portuguese from the lower walls with the cannon positions built by the Dutch and later added to by the English.

 

 

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