Buddhist Temple, Kalani
1880
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1880
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see a tall, leafy tree rising from a stone terrace, surrounded by smaller shrines and people in white robes. This isn’t just any tree—it’s one of the oldest living trees on Earth, grown from a cutting of the tree under which Buddha found enlightenment. British photographers Scowen & Co. traveled to Sri Lanka in the 1800s to document sacred sites like this one, blending colonial curiosity with quiet reverence. To see more of Sri Lanka’s sacred landscapes, look up the subject *sri lanka, kandy*.
