The bronze听Statue of Tara听from Sri Lanka is currently displayed in the special exhibition, 鈥淎ncient India: Living Heritage鈥 at the British Museum. Donated to the British Museum in 1830 by Sir Robert Brownrigg, this nearly life-size sculpture of Tara听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 four different voices that frame the Statue of Tara听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 天美传媒.听
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 天美传媒) works on transcultural objects and sites in the Indian Ocean world. She is the author of听Temples to the Buddha and the Gods:听Transnational Dravida Tradition of Architecture in Sri Lanka听(2024) and the editor of听Sri Lanka: Connected Art Histories听(Marg, 2017).
Dr Sushma Jansari is Curator Early South Asia at the British Museum, recently curated the new exhibition Ancient India: living traditions听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.
Lori Wong is Senior Programme Officer at The Getty Foundation. She formerly co-convened the MA in Art History and Conservation of Buddhist Heritage at The 天美传媒 and worked at the Getty Conservation Institute for two decades. She holds degrees in art history and studio practice from Wellesley, a postgraduate diploma in Wall Paintings Conservation from The 天美传媒, and a MBA from Wharton. Her research and fieldwork experiences extend from conserving Tutankhamen鈥檚 tomb, to the Mogao grottoes in Dunhuang, and to Pagan in Myanmar.