Part of an architrave with winged lion and lioness, sandstone, Mathura, North India, 2nd century

Part of an architrave of red and ochre coloured sandstone, with traces of a former coating of haematite. The panel is rectangular and is carved in low relief. It is a section of an architrave from a gateway (torana) decorated with a man holding a fly whisk (chauri), presumably honouring the deity represented in the centre of the panel, most probably Buddha, but now missing, a winged lion (passant) and a frontally-seated lion, ending on the right with part of a conventional foliate device, probably representing the Buddhist triratna ( three jewels) emblem, symbolising the Buddhist law and teaching (dharma), the community of monks (sangha) and lay devotees.. This was probably part of a Buddhist veneration scene.

The triratna emblem on the panel was used in Jain as well as Buddhist religious architecture in this period, but the lion motif does suggest a Buddhist affiliation as more likely as the historical Buddha Sakyamuni was characterised as the 'lion' of the Sakya clan.
It was customary from at least the Shunga period (1st century BC-1st century AD) and in the Kushan period to mark religious sites, be they shrines, temples or especially stupas, with monumnetal free-standing pillars (stambhas) and gateways (toranas). In the Buddhist and Jain context, both of which utilised stupas, these gateways would mark the four cardinal points of a stupa. Gateways of this kind resemble those of secular urban architecture of the period, except that they were not designed to be fortified.
No provenance is available, but it may be assumed that this lintel was excavated in one of the many mounds that mark ancient sites at the city of Mathura, known in early sources as the 'city of gods'.

This object is a section of an architrave or lintel from a ceremonial gateway (torana). It is possible that it belonged to a Jain stupa, of which one is known to have been built at Mathura, but more probably it belonged to a Buddhist stupa, (shrine) or monastery site.
The sandstone panel is carved in low relief with a winged lion pacing to the left, flanked by a front-view lioness and a standing attendant waving a fly-whisk. The attendant was probably orginally honouring a deity represented in the centre of the panel. This deity, most likely a Buddha, is now missing. On the extreme right is part of a conventional foliate motif . This probably represents the Buddhist 'three jewels' emblem, symbolising the Buddhist law and teachings (dharma), the community of monks (sangha), and the lay devotees.

IM.1-1927