Death of the Buddha thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
The Himalayas and South-East Asia, Room 47a

Death of the Buddha

Sculpture
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
TitleDeath 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.
Dimensions
  • Height: 51.5cm
  • Width: 26.7cm
  • Depth: 14cm
Style
Gallery label
Part of a Relief of the Buddha’s Death (Parinirvana) 100–300 Kushan period By the Buddha’s bedside four disciples are grieving. One disciple comforts the Buddha’s companion and protector Vajrapani, whose thunderbolt has fallen to the ground. A fifth disciple, possibly the last convert, Subhadra, meditates. A water bottle hangs on a tripod next to the bed. Such overt expressions of emotion derive from the late Hellenistic tradition, which strongly influenced Gandharan art. Schist Gandhara/North-west Pakistan The upper part missing Museum no. IS.7-1948 (06/06/2011)
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
Bibliographic references
  • W, Zwalf, Buddhism: Art and Faith, British Museum Publications,London, no.27. For events at Parinirvan see Banerji, The eastern Indian School of Medieval Sculpture, p.82. Burgess, Buddhist Art in India, pp.117-8. Vigier, The life of the Buddha, pp.44-8.
  • Ackermann, Hans Christoph. Narrative Stone Reliefs from Gandhara in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Catalogue and Attempt at a Stylistic History. Reports and Memoirs. Director of the Series Giuseppe Tucci. Volume XVII. IsMEO, Rome, 1975. pp. 123-24, pl. LII
  • The art of India and Pakistan, a commemorative catalogue of the exhibition held at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1947-8. Edited by Sir Leigh Ashton. London: Faber and Faber, [1950] p. 36, cat. no. 111
  • Ayers, J. Oriental Art in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London 1983, ISBN 0-85667-120-7 p. 59
  • Irwin, John C., Indian Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: H. M. Stationery Office, 1968 pl. 5
  • Irwin, John, C., A Brief Guide to Indian Art, H.M.S.O. 1962 fig. 2
  • Irwin, John; Indian Art: Victoria & Albert Museum departmental guide, H.M.S.O. ISBN 0 905209117, 1978 fig. 3, p. 6
Collection
Accession number
IS.7-1948

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Record createdFebruary 13, 2000
Record URL
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