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Scowen & Co. Views of Sri Lankan Archaeological Sites
97.R.51
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections
Title: Views of Sri Lankan archaeological sites by Scowen & Co. and Joseph Lawton
Creator:
Scowen & Co
Identifier/Call Number: 97.R.51
Physical Description:
1.5 Linear Feet
(1 box: 24 albumen prints)
Date (inclusive): 1870-1893
Physical Location: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the
catalog record for this collection.
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Abstract: The collection comprises views of structures and sculptures in Sri Lanka from the sites of
Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. The twelve photographs of Anuradhapura are by Charles Thomas Scowen. The photographs of Polonnaruwa
were likely all taken
by Joseph Lawton. The photographs were taken shortly after the rediscovery of these important Buddhist monuments, but before
official excavations were
begun by the Archaeological Department of Ceylon in the 1890s.
Language of Material: Collection material is in English.
Contact
Library Reproductions and
Permissions
.
Views of Sri Lankan archaeological sites by Scowen & Co. and Joseph Lawton, 1870-1893, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles,
Accession no.
97.R.51.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa97r51
Charles T. Scowen (1852-1948) arrived in Sri Lanka as an assistant to R. Edley, a commission agent, in 1873. In 1876 he established
his first
photographic studio, Scowen & Co., in Kandy, and by 1885 he had opened a studio in Colombo. Scowen & Co., which was especially
known for its
flower and plant studies, was active until the mid-1890s when Colombo Apothecaries Co. acquired its entire negative stock.
Scowen, who appears to have
become a proprietary tea planter for a time in Sri Lanka, died in Sudbury, England.
The British photographer, Joseph Lawton, who was initially employed in Kandy, Sri Lanka, by the trading company H. C. Bryde
and Sons, established his
own photographic studio in that town in the mid-1860s. In 1870 he was commissioned by the Archaeological Committee, which
had been established by the
Governor of Ceylon in 1868, to photograph the main archaeological sites in Sri Lanka. After working at the sites of Anuradhapura,
Mihintale,
Polonnaruwa, and Sigiriya during 1870 and 1871, where he was often actively involved in clearing the jungle so that the sites
could be photographed and
excavated, Lawton fell ill. He returned to England to recover, but died there in 1872. Lawton produced two sets of photographs
from his photographic
campaigns for the Archaeological Committee, one of which was retained in Sri Lanka and the other of which was sent to the
Colonial Office in London, and
is now in the British National Archives. Lawton's studio, under the direction of his wife Helen, continued selling his photographs
to the tourist
market. The studio was taken over by R. Charter in 1885 and Lawton's original negatives were scattered among many buyers and
are now considered to be
lost.
Open for use by qualified researchers.
The collection was digitized by the repository in 2018 and the images are available online:
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/97r51
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquired in 1997.
The collection was processed in 2018 by Beth Ann Guynn who also wrote the finding aid.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection comprises views of structures and sculptures in Sri Lanka from the sites of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa dating
from the 10th to 13th
centuries AD, with some components dating to the 2nd century BC. The photographs of Anuradhapura were all taken by Charles
Thomas Scowen or one of his
studio operatives. Structures depicted at Anuradhapura include the Issurumuniya temple, Lowamahapaya (the Brazen Palace) and
Ruwanweliseya, the Buddha's
relic shrine. Also shown are many sculptural elements and Buddha statues of the Abhayagiri Dagoba as well as the site's bas-relief
sandakada pahanas or
moon-stones.
The photographs of Polonnaruwa were likely all taken by Joseph Lawton. At Polonnaruwa sites include the Gal Vihara temple,
Dalada Maligawa, Abhayagiri
(Northern) monastery, and the Thivanka Pilimage (Image House) as well as various sculptural elements such as statues of lions,
the Buddha, and the Gal
Pota, or Book of Stone.
Two photographs are unidentified as to either site or photgrapher and include a view of a house or temple built under a large
oblong rock and a
colossal standing Buddha statue.
The photographs in the collection were taken shortly after the rediscovery of these important Buddhist monuments, but before
official excavations were
begun by the Archaeological Department of Ceylon in the 1890s. The sites have been extensively excavated, modified, and restored
since the photographs
were taken.
The 12 Scowen photographs have printed captions in the negative. Eleven of these also bear the photographer's printed name:
Scowen & Co. Three
photographs have both a printed name and "Scowen" written in the negative, and one photograph has only "Scowen" written in
the negative.
Ten photographs by or attributed to Joseph Lawton have pencil captions on their versos with numbers apparently correlating
to plate numbers in one of
Lawton's publications. One photograph has "Lawton" written in the negative on the trunk of a felled tree.
The collection is arranged in a single series: Series I. Views of Sri Lankan archaeological sites by Scowen & Co. and Joseph
Lawton, 1870-1893.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Stūpas -- Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka -- Description and travel
Photographs, Original
Albumen prints -- 19th century -- Sri Lanka
Buddhist sculpture -- Sri Lanka
Monuments -- Sri Lanka
Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka) -- Antiquities
Alahana Parivena Site (Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka) -- Antiquities
Lawton, Joseph, -1872
Ruwanweliseya (Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka)