Not currently on display at the V&A

Reliquary

307 BC - 267 BC (made)
Place of origin

This reliquary, fashioned in rock crystal, is believed to have been found in the great Thuparama dagaba at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka and is believed to date to 307-267 BC. It is carved in the form of a dagaba or stupa and it has a cylindrical cavity bored into the top within which a relic would have been stored, safely held within by a now-absent stopper that was carved as a six-tiered umbrella of the dagaba, and which rested on a small, cylindrical pedestal. It was part of a collection of Indian rock crystal objects that were offered for sale to the museum in 1920 by Captain Rupert Simson, who was following his late father's wishes


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Rock crystal, cut and polished using abrasives and abrasive-charged tools.
Brief description
Reliquary, rock crystal, rounded, carved and drilled, Sri Lanka, 307-267 BC, stopper absent
Physical description
A reliquary of squat, bullet-shaped form with a slightly triangular rounded cross-section. There are three circumferential grooves at the lower end, two wide and one is narrower. There is a wide, vertical, blind drill hole located centrally. Cut and polished from rock crystal.
Dimensions
  • Im.332 1920 height: 39.0mm
  • Im.332 1920 length: 39.3mm
  • Im.332 1920 width: 37.15mm
  • Im.332 1920 diameter: 8.8 to 9.0mm (Note: Diameter of the drill hole)
  • Im.332 1920 depth: 25.0mm (Note: Depth of the flat-bottomed drill hole)
The object is rather irregular in shape
Credit line
Purchased from Captain Rupert Simson on behalf of the Public Trustee, the sole executor and trustee of his father's estate
Object history
This rock crystal reliquary was stated to have been found in the great Thuparama dagaba at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. It was part of a collection of Indian rock crystal objects that were offered for sale to the museum in 1920 by Captain Rupert Simson, who was following his late father's wishes. The whole collection was bought for the sum of £550-0-0.
Summary
This reliquary, fashioned in rock crystal, is believed to have been found in the great Thuparama dagaba at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka and is believed to date to 307-267 BC. It is carved in the form of a dagaba or stupa and it has a cylindrical cavity bored into the top within which a relic would have been stored, safely held within by a now-absent stopper that was carved as a six-tiered umbrella of the dagaba, and which rested on a small, cylindrical pedestal. It was part of a collection of Indian rock crystal objects that were offered for sale to the museum in 1920 by Captain Rupert Simson, who was following his late father's wishes
Collection
Accession number
IM.332-1920

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
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