Model of a Stupa

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Model of a Stupa

Place of OriginSwat Valley, (north of Peshawar), India

Date3rd century

Dimensions7 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

Not on View

Published ReferencesJ. Sherrier, "An Important Relic Stupa with Four Freestanding Figures," South Asian Archaeology, 1984, pp.254-256.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.