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

Relief panel

Relief Panel
3rd century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

An arched relief panel showing scenes from the life of the Buddha. This caitya arch probably comprised the top portion of a false gable panel from a stupa. The two upper compartments of the relief, which are divided by a torus moulding with pointed leaf decoration, show the Buddha, in dhayana mudra with worshippers in the form of winged ichthyocentaurs with coiled tails. In the bottom arched section divided from the above two registers by a round-headed saw-tooth moulding, which is mirrored above by another pointed arched moulding, there is a standing haloed Buddha in abhayamudra,facing an ascetic dressed in a dhoti. This illustrates the rejection by the Buddha of orthodox Brahmanical teaching, represented by the sage who points to his leaf-hut at the left. To the right stands Vajrapani, bearer of the adamantine thunderbolt. There are also the heads (the one to Buddha's left side being turbaned) and upper torsos of two men, which emerge from the back slab on either side behind Buddha, while another figure on the far right, possibly of a disciple dressed as a monk, is now only seen as a shadow, owing to the stone having been damaged.
The outer framing comprises two mouldings, the outside margin being decorated with curled-over leaf or petal motifs, while the inner, broader one has a running scroll of five-petalled rosettes.



Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleRelief panel (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Grey schist
Brief description
Gable with scenes from the life of the Buddha, 3rd century, grey schist, Swat valley, Gandhara..
Physical description
An arched relief panel showing scenes from the life of the Buddha. This caitya arch probably comprised the top portion of a false gable panel from a stupa. The two upper compartments of the relief, which are divided by a torus moulding with pointed leaf decoration, show the Buddha, in dhayana mudra with worshippers in the form of winged ichthyocentaurs with coiled tails. In the bottom arched section divided from the above two registers by a round-headed saw-tooth moulding, which is mirrored above by another pointed arched moulding, there is a standing haloed Buddha in abhayamudra,facing an ascetic dressed in a dhoti. This illustrates the rejection by the Buddha of orthodox Brahmanical teaching, represented by the sage who points to his leaf-hut at the left. To the right stands Vajrapani, bearer of the adamantine thunderbolt. There are also the heads (the one to Buddha's left side being turbaned) and upper torsos of two men, which emerge from the back slab on either side behind Buddha, while another figure on the far right, possibly of a disciple dressed as a monk, is now only seen as a shadow, owing to the stone having been damaged.
The outer framing comprises two mouldings, the outside margin being decorated with curled-over leaf or petal motifs, while the inner, broader one has a running scroll of five-petalled rosettes.

Dimensions
  • Height: 59.5cm
  • Width: 62cm
Credit line
Bought (Source not recorded)
Object history
From the Swat Vallery, North-West Frontier Province.

Bought (Source not recorded). This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project.
Production
Swat valley, North-west Pakistan, Gandhara.
Subject depicted
Bibliographic references
  • 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. 104-105, pl. XXXVIII b
  • Gandāra bijutsu = Gandhāran art / Kurita Isao hencho. Tōkyō: Nigensha, 1988- Number: 4544020123 (v. 1) vol. 1, p.276, cat. 591
  • Haworth-Booth, Mark; Indian Sculpture: A Travelling Exhibition, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 1971 No. 23
Collection
Accession number
342-1907

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Record createdMay 23, 2002
Record URL
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