Sculpture
10th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This sculpture represents a famous incident in the life of the Buddha when he subdued the drunk and enraged elephant Nalagiri which had been unleashed on him by the evil king Ajatasattu. Attendant monks look on while the newly tamed elephant kneels before the Buddha. This relief was excavated, together with others illustrating the different scenes from the Buddha's life, in the vicinity of the Shwe-nyaung-bin-yo monastery at Hmawza, Burma (now Myanmar) in 1938-9.
Stylistically these reliefs appear to provide the bridge between the Pyu art of the ancient Sri Ksetra and the Mon-Burmese art of Pagan.
Stylistically these reliefs appear to provide the bridge between the Pyu art of the ancient Sri Ksetra and the Mon-Burmese art of Pagan.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Stone |
| Brief description | The Buddha subduing the elephant Nalagiri, Stone, 10th century, Pyu Style, Burma. |
| Physical description | A scene at Rajagana illustrates a famous incident in the life of the Buddha when he subdued the drunk and enraged elephant Nalagiri which had been unleashed on him by the evil king Ajatasattu. Attendant monks observe whilst the tamed elephant kneels before the Buddha. This relief was excavated, together with others illustrating the different scenes from the Buddha's life, in the vicinity of the Shwe-nyaung-bin-yo monastery at Hmawza, in 1938-9. Stylistically these reliefs appear to provide the bridge between the Pyu art of the ancient Sri Ksetra and the Mon-Burmese art of Pagan. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Bought from Rev. F.J.Bacon |
| Historical context | The sculpture was a chance find by a local abbot, or rather his lay pupil, and excavated in a group of 7 stone sculptures, two bronzes and a silver statuette and small relic casket of silver. The finds were considered important enough to be collected and taken to Mandalay. They remained in the museum in the palace in Mandalay until it was destroyed in the Second World War. They were then acquired by Rev. Bacon from road building site. |
| Production | Hmawza (Prome) Burma, Pyu style |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This sculpture represents a famous incident in the life of the Buddha when he subdued the drunk and enraged elephant Nalagiri which had been unleashed on him by the evil king Ajatasattu. Attendant monks look on while the newly tamed elephant kneels before the Buddha. This relief was excavated, together with others illustrating the different scenes from the Buddha's life, in the vicinity of the Shwe-nyaung-bin-yo monastery at Hmawza, Burma (now Myanmar) in 1938-9. Stylistically these reliefs appear to provide the bridge between the Pyu art of the ancient Sri Ksetra and the Mon-Burmese art of Pagan. |
| Bibliographic reference | Report of the Superintendent, Achaeological Survey of Burma, 1938-9, Rangoon, 1940, pp.7-9, pl.IIIb. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.13-1983 |
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| Record created | August 21, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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