Page 152 - Bonhams Indian and Himalayan Art September 2013

232

234
Two panels of Buddhist processional scenes
Sri Lanka, Colombo, 1890s
Oil on panel signed and dated ‘JLK Van Dort 189’ lower right on each panel; showing priests,
noblemen and devotees carrying Buddhist flags and bearing covered caskets.
Each panel: 62 3/4 x 35 1/8 in. (159.4 x 89.4 cm)
$15,000 - 20,000

John Leonhard Kalenberg Van Dort (1831-1898) was best know for his drawings of Sri Lankan
daily life and its monuments. A collection of his work is in the National Museum of Colombo of the
people of mid 19th century Ceylon.

The panels of the present lot most likely represent scenes associated with the Esala Perahera (the
festival of the tooth). During the festival the priest of each devale (temple) take the pole every
evening, accompanied by music and drumming, flag and canopy bearers, spearman and the Ran
Ayudha, the sacred insignia of the Gods.

Provenance:
Property from a Californian Institution
Acquired by gift in 1970s

150 | Bonhams