Carving Destruction: Carlo Marochetti's Monument to Granville Gower Loch (1853).

The article focuses on the 1853 encounter between Burmese rebels led by local chief Nga Myat Toon and the British army during the Second Anglo-Burmese War in Lower Burma. It highlights how Myat Toon's peasant fighters used their intimate knowledge of the jungle to achieve a rare Burmese victory against British forces, which included Indian Sepoys. The article also analyzes a marble relief by sculptor Carlo Marochetti that commemorates the British naval captain Granville Gower Loch, portraying the battle from a distinctly British imperial perspective that diminishes the Burmese resistance. This artwork reflects colonial attitudes by depicting the Burmese as part of the natural landscape and justifying British domination, while overlooking the cultural and religious significance of the conflict for the Burmese people. The piece situates the battle within the broader context of British imperial expansion and its disruptive impact on Burmese society and Buddhism.