Sunday Times 2
Landscapes of Sri Lanka – historical photographic exhibition in Berlin
View(s):To mark the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Germany, an exhibition of historical 19th century photographs titled “Landscapes of Sri Lanka” was held on September 26 in Berlin, Germany, by Minister of National Heritage Dr. Jagath Balasuriya.
Visitors at the exhibition
President Mahinda Rajapaksa had a private viewing of the exhibition on the 28th when he visited Berlin returning from New York after attending the 68th sessions of the General Assembly of the UN. The President commended the Ambassador and the Museum of Asian Art for the remarkable initiative, which brings out the historical connection between the two nations.
A large crowd of Germans and Sri Lankan expatriates visited the inauguration ceremony of the exhibition. Ambassador Sarath Kongahage, Governor of the Southern Province Kumari Balasuriya and Secretary, Ministry of National Heritage Dr. Nanda Wickramasinghe, members of the diplomatic community accredited to Germany and the staff of the Embassy were present at the opening ceremony.
In his introductory speech, Deputy Director of the Museum of Asian Art, Raffael Gadebusch, said that one of the first Europeans to open a studio in Ceylon was of German origin. The establishment founded by A.W.A. Plate can still be found in Sri Lanka at 580, Galle Road, Colombo 3. Several photographs exhibited in Dahlem Museum are originally from Plâté Co.
Sarath Konghage, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Germany lighting the traditional oil lamp, while Hiran Houx, a representative of the Friends of the Museums, Raffael Gadebusch, Minister of National Heritage Dr. Jagath Balasuriya, Governor Kumari Balasuriya, Prof. Christina Haak and Secretary, Ministry of National Heritage Dr. Nanda Wickremesinghe look on.
At the time, when the photographs shown in the exhibition were taken, Ceylon was one of the most coveted destinations of Asian travellers in the 19th century. Prince Waldemar, a member of the Hohenzollern family in Prussia, Germany, was among the first aristocrats visiting Sri Lanka in the 1840s. A rare copy of his travel memoir containing his own lithography of Landscapes of Sri Lanka is also among the exhibits in the Museum of Asian Art in Berlin. Landscapes were selected for the exhibition to give an impression of the beauty of Sri Lanka.
A catalogue with bilingual texts containing all the exhibited photographs with articles by scholars was also published and a copy was presented to the President.
Landscapes of Sri Lanka will be open until January 5, 2014 and the exhibition will then travel to Sri Lanka with the patronage of the Ministry of Heritage of Sri Lanka and the German Embassy in Sri Lanka.
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