Ancient Gandhara, Pakistan

Title

Votive stupa with base

Place of origin

Ancient Gandhara → Pakistan

Period

Kushan period mid 1st century - early 5th century → India

Year

1st century

Media category

Sculpture

Materials used

marble

Dimensions

23.0 x 11.9cm overall:

a - lid; 20 x 8.3cm

b - base; 3.1 x 11.9cm

Signature & date

Not signed. Not dated.

Credit

Bequest of Alex Biancardi 2000

Accession number

27.2000.a-b

Location

Upper Asian gallery

Further information

The stupa is probably the most revered symbol in Buddhism. Its shape is based on the memorial mound raised over the mortal remains of the Buddha Shakyamuni. For the early Buddhists, the stupa was a symbol both of the Buddha's Parinirvana (extinction) and of the faith itself. Images of the stupa abound in Buddhist art, in media as diverse as stone, bronze, crystal and gold. This formally proportioned stupa is typical in construction: a base, a hemispherical body surmounted by a 'harmika' (a square structure derived from the fenced enclosures of early shrines), and crowned by a multi-tiered umbrella.

The Asian Collections, AGNSW, 2003, pg.26.

Bibliography (1)

Jackie Menzies (Editor), The Asian Collections Art Gallery of New South Wales 2003, 'Buddhist Art', Domain, 2003, 26 (colour illus.).