Model of a Stupa Dedicated by Sivaraksitaka

Expand

IIIFView PDF

Model of a Stupa Dedicated by Sivaraksitaka

Place of OriginPakistan, Swat Valley (north of Peshawar)

Date3rd century

Dimensions10 3/4 × 6 3/4 × 8 1/2 in. (27.3 × 17.1 × 21.6 cm)
A: 7 3/4 × 2 3/4 × 1 7/8 in. (19.7 × 7 × 4.8 cm)

MediumGreen schist.

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

2006.144A-I

Not on View

DescriptionThe inscription on the base reads:"[Gift of] Sivaraksitaka, the stupa with people around it paying homage." Remarkable in this Buddhist context is that the name of the donor literally means 'protected by Shiva'. The dating of the inscription, based on paleographic grounds is no later than 150 AD.

Label TextThe prime object of veneration for Buddhists is a stupa, or funerary shrine, which refers to the original mounds where Buddha’s earthly remains were buried. Full of cosmic symbolism, the stupa (meaning “crown of the head” or “summit”) symbolizes the mind of the Buddha. The various parts of the stupa correspond to the five elements of manifested existence: space/void, wind/air, fire, water, and earth. The domed shape also refers to the dome of the heavens. The spire rising from the middle represents the axis of the world. This rare model of a stupa is encircled by a donor and three holy figures (deities Brahma and Indra, who were adopted from Hinduism, and Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future). It is believed to be a traveling shrine because the pieces can easily be assembled and taken apart again.Published ReferencesJ. Sherrier, "An Important Relic Stupa with Four Freestanding Figures," South Asian Archaeology, 1984, pp.254-256.