.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This finely carved stone stele illustrates the eight principal events in Buddha's life following a popular Pala period iconographic device. The narrative elements are reduced to iconic images that remain recognizable due to attributes or gestures. The large central image depicts Buddha after the triumph over Mara, touching the Earth as his witness. The remaining seven are arranged as follows, clockwise from lower left: the birth; the first sermon at Sarnath, with two deer flanking the wheel; the descent from Trayastrimsa; the death, parinirvana; the taming of the mad elephant Nalagiri; the miracle of Sravasti; the monkey's gift of honey, holding a bowl.
The Buddhist creed incised around the halo reads: "All phenomena arise from causes, and the Tathagata [Buddha] explained their cause. He also explained their cessation; such is the teaching of the Great Monk". The inscription at the center of the base, likely of a donor's name, reads: "Malayametamitrah." We are grateful to Professor Richard Salomon, University of Washington, Seattle, for reading the inscription.
For another example, with a different sequence of scenes, see M. Yaldiz (ed.), Magische Götterwelten, Werke aus dem Museum für Indische Kunst Berlin, 2000, cat. no. 66, p. 44f.
The Buddhist creed incised around the halo reads: "All phenomena arise from causes, and the Tathagata [Buddha] explained their cause. He also explained their cessation; such is the teaching of the Great Monk". The inscription at the center of the base, likely of a donor's name, reads: "Malayametamitrah." We are grateful to Professor Richard Salomon, University of Washington, Seattle, for reading the inscription.
For another example, with a different sequence of scenes, see M. Yaldiz (ed.), Magische Götterwelten, Werke aus dem Museum für Indische Kunst Berlin, 2000, cat. no. 66, p. 44f.