This stone model of a ship is thought to be unique in Indian art. Dating from the Pala period in eastern India it depicts a river-going vessel with eight oarsmen (or possibly six oarsmen and one or two helmsmen steering with a paddle) and no sail. The shape with the very high stern relates to traditional river craft in Eastern India. The ship is clinker built and shows elaborate decoration on its uppermost planks. There are musicians playing drums and horns high in the stern and in the centre of the ship is a pavilion. This might suggest that it is a pleasure vessel for the enjoyment of a royal owner. The figures depicted sitting in the pavilion are, on the port side, a warrior with a bow, in the centre facing the bows of the ship a princely figure, and on the starboard side a bearded priestly figure holding a rosary. Because of the presence of the priest and warrior it has been suggested that the boat depicted may have had some ritual function, perhaps in a religious ceremony asking the gods for safe passage for ships at sea. There was a rich history of mercantile shipping and naval activity in the Bay of Bengal at the period this model was made.
A kneeling elephant is depicted in the bow flanked by two attendants and on its back is a pointed cylindrical object. The top of this resembles an umbrella and it has been suggested that this is what the object represents, but that due to the small scale of the carving the sculptor would have been unable to carve away the sides of the umbrella to leave only a thin shaft, which would have been too fragile. Like the elephant, the umbrella was a symbol of royalty in India.