Dr Roland Silva Memorial Lecture on thrones and crowns of Sinhale Royalty

Prof. Nimal de Silva will deliver the Dr Roland Silva Memorial Lecture on Wednesday, January 31 at 6 p.m. at the Auditorium of the College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka, No. 6, Independence Avenue, Colombo 7. His topic will be “Story of Thrones and Crowns of Sinhale Royalty”.

The lecture (online: https://us02web. zoom.us/j/81708355365) is part of the National Trust of Sri Lanka’s monthly lecture series.

Coronation is a ceremonial ritual conducted in crowning a sovereign. At this ceremonial occasion it was the tradition that King was seated on a special seat or throne with a special head dress -- a crown, in addition to the ceremonial dress he wore. The golden throne and the crown used by the last King of Sinhale, Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe that was taken to England by British Governor, Sir Robert Brownrigg in 1820 and presented personally to King George IV, was returned to Sri Lanka on September 22, 1834 and is now displayed at the National Museum, Colombo.

According to historical and archaeological evidence these were made around 1687. Up to this, Sinhale Kings had pedestal thrones. The Kandyan throne and crowns were exquisite artistic products of Otunupattale Arachchi, a Kandyan master craftsman.

Of the four crowns of Kandyan Kings, two; one in gold and the other in silver were lost to the nation due to the irresponsibility of the Sri Lankan government authorities. The silver models of the throne chair and crown made by the craftsman for Dutch Governor’s approval are still available to understand the historical origin.

Emeritus Prof. Nimal de Silva was Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Moratuwa and the Director of the Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya, teaching architecture, archaeology and heritage conservation. Currently he serves as the Academic Advisor & Professor, School of Architecture at Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT). He is a senior chartered architect, currently Managing Partner of Deveco Architects.