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Image / Vatadāgē: Moonstone, west entrance

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Title
Vatadāgē: Moonstone, west entrance
Creator
de Silva, Preethi
Date Created and/or Issued
2016
Publication Information
Claremont Colleges Library
Contributing Institution
Claremont Colleges Library
Collection
Ancient Cultural Sites and Royal Residences
Rights Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Description
A well-preserved moonstone. Here the earlier order of the carvings of animals in the concentric semi-circles is different to some other moonstones (as often seen at Anuradhapura). Viewed inward from the outer circle: flame motif, 33 geese, 13 elephants (with trunks held curled or hanging down), 13 horses, scrolled creeper (vine), separated by decorated band and finally lotus petals of the central half-lotus. The bull is not included form the moonstone sin Polonnaruva, possibly due to the influence of Hinduism. As noted, here the geese are on the band immediately following the band of flames. The vertical bands of the steps are decorated in bas reliefs of dwarf figures (ganas) separated by ornate pilasters. Length: 7 feet, 4 inches. Breadth: 4 feet, 5 inches.
Type
image
Format
image/jp2
Identifier
acs01071.jpg
http://ccdl.claremont.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15831coll15/id/1175
Subject
Moonstones
Time Period
12th century CE
Place
Daladā Maluva (Terrace of the Tooth Relic): Vatadāgē
Polonnaruva
Sri Lanka
Relation
Ancient Buddhist Sites and Royal Residences in Sri Lanka - https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/p15831coll15

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