Depicting the Rāmāyana in Sixteenth-Century Sri Lanka: Some Preliminary Observations

Abstract This article explores the different ways of depicting the Rāmāyana in sixteenth-century Sri Lankan ivories that were created as diplomatic gifts for Portuguese royalty. Although scholarly publications have brought attention to this epic and its diverse roles in Sri Lanka, most have disregarded the significance of its visual presence. A comparative visual analysis reveals that the Rāmāyaṇa was a familiar narrative at local royal courts. Even within this small group of objects, the depictions differ from one another, revealing the active agency of ivory carvers, whose labor has often been framed through the hierarchical notion of “Western unidirectional influence.” Local textual sources indicate that patrons found the Rāmāyaṇa productive at both courts and at temples, bringing to light the centrality of this Vaiṣṇava epic to courts that have often been framed as Buddhist, Śaivite, or Christian. These ivories simultaneously reveal a shared medium and a shared narrative across the Indian Ocean world, reflecting the unity and diversity of this vast and complex space.