Death of the Buddha
Sculpture
2nd century-3rd century (made)
2nd century-3rd century (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The lower half of a relief depicting the Buddha's death (parinirvana). Five disciples are seen grieving in a row in front of the sweeping drapery of the deathbed. On the left-hand side the stricken, groaning figure of Vajrapani props up his reclining body with one arm while the other is raised above his head, having dropped his attribute, a thunderbolt, to the ground. He has curly hair and is bare-chested,dressed only in a robe round the lower part of his body He is being comforted by a bearded man with a top-knot and large earrings. To his right another man half kneels and looks despairingly upwards, raising his (now damaged) right arm up towards where the body of the dead Buddha would have been above. He too is bare-chested, but he wears a necklace and wrist bangles with an uttariya draped over his left shoulder . The next figure is of an ascetic, bare-chested, dressed only in a lower garment with his hair tied up in a topknot. He sits cross-legged and shields his head behind his right hand while his left one rests on top of his left knee. The last figure on the right is of a meditating monk with his hands wrapped in his robe in his lap with his eyes cast down. He has a cap-like hairstyle with the ends flicked back across the centre of his head and caught in a tassel-like arrangement over his forehead. He is presumably Subhadra, the last convert. He sits next to a netted water bag suspended from a tripod of three poles lashed together on the extreme right.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Death of the Buddha (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Grey schist |
Brief description | Lower part of a relief showing a scene at the death of the Buddha (Parinirvana), grey schist, 3rd century AD, Gandhara |
Physical description | The lower half of a relief depicting the Buddha's death (parinirvana). Five disciples are seen grieving in a row in front of the sweeping drapery of the deathbed. On the left-hand side the stricken, groaning figure of Vajrapani props up his reclining body with one arm while the other is raised above his head, having dropped his attribute, a thunderbolt, to the ground. He has curly hair and is bare-chested,dressed only in a robe round the lower part of his body He is being comforted by a bearded man with a top-knot and large earrings. To his right another man half kneels and looks despairingly upwards, raising his (now damaged) right arm up towards where the body of the dead Buddha would have been above. He too is bare-chested, but he wears a necklace and wrist bangles with an uttariya draped over his left shoulder . The next figure is of an ascetic, bare-chested, dressed only in a lower garment with his hair tied up in a topknot. He sits cross-legged and shields his head behind his right hand while his left one rests on top of his left knee. The last figure on the right is of a meditating monk with his hands wrapped in his robe in his lap with his eyes cast down. He has a cap-like hairstyle with the ends flicked back across the centre of his head and caught in a tassel-like arrangement over his forehead. He is presumably Subhadra, the last convert. He sits next to a netted water bag suspended from a tripod of three poles lashed together on the extreme right. |
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Gallery label |
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Object history | From the collection of Colonel D.H. Gordon, D.S.O, O.B.E. Displayed in the exhibition 'The Art of India and Pakistan' at the Royal Academy, London, 1947-8 and subsequently purchased by the V&A. |
Subject depicted | |
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Collection | |
Accession number | IS.7-1948 |
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Record created | February 13, 2000 |
Record URL |
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