All that glitters is not gold; controversy over statues gifted to Dalada Maligawa

Did the Thai donors with connections to the Thai government take the authorities for a ride when gifting Buddha statues to the Sri Dalada Maligawa?

The hue and cry in 2018 at the loss of “gold Buddha statues” has become a whimper according to a report from the National Gem and Jewellery Authority.

Twenty-five gold statues were gifted to the Sri Dalada Maligawa authorities in 2017/2018. They were placed in the new wing of the temple.

The present Diyawadana Nilame, on the advice of the Asgiriya Mahanayake, who was then in-charge of the inner shrine room, gifted some statues to temples around the country.

A hue and cry was raised that the gold statues were spirited away and banner headlines appeared, questioning the authorities of shifting the gold statues out of the Sri Dalada Maligawa and what became of them.

The temple authorities who accepted the 25 Buddha statues at the time, never tested them in good faith and took the word of the donors to their authenticity as the donors claimed connections to the Thai government.

However, results of tests conducted subsequently have now been released by the Gem and Jewellery Authority. They have testified that there are no traces of gold in the statues presented to the temple.

The height of each statue with the base is 4 feet 9 inches and three feet without the base.

The composition of the material of the Buddha statues is as follows: In front of each statue are the words “Sri Dalada Malgawa.” There is 57.4 percent of copper (Cu) and 42.6 percent of zinc under the outer cover of each statue.

Underneath the main covering of the statues, the content is as follows: 41.4 per cent of titanium, 30.5 percent of lead, 11.2 per cent of calcium, 8.4 per cent of chromium, 6.6 per cent of iron, and 1.9 per cent of copper.

The Authority says there is no gold covering on the statues presented for examination.