Object Name: Mask
Artist: Salvin Silva
Place of Origin: Dondra, Southern Province, Sri Lanka
Date: 2008
Dimensions: H: 26.50 cm, W: 37.00 cm, D: 40.50 cm
Materials Used: Wood, paint, cotton fabric
Credit Line and Accession Number: Fowler Museum at UCLA. Museum purchase. X2008.28.1a-e
Singha, the lion, is the totemic emblem of Sri Lanka’s Sinhala peoples, drawn from heraldic imagery. The lion performs in kolam popular drama, not as a main character but as a figure that evokes the power and strength of the main character and also the protective beneficence of the Buddha.
Source: Gallery wall text, Fowler in Focus: Masks of Sri Lanka, 2009