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Lot Essay
The present and following reliefs depict the conception and birth of the Buddha. Queen Maya, the Buddha's future mother, became pregnant after she dreamt of a magnificent white bull elephant who struck her on the right side with its trunk and vanished into her (lot 216). When the time grew near, Queen Maya wished to travel to her childhood home to give birth. On the way, the procession passed the bountiful grove of Lumbini. Entranced, the Queen asked her courtiers to stop, and leaving the palanquin, she entered the grove. As she reached up to touch the blossoms, the Buddha was born directly from her side (lot 217).