Reliquary thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Buddhism, Room 20, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Galleries of Buddhist Art

Reliquary

ca. 200 BC (made)
Place of origin
Sanchi (made)

The casket, of lathe-turned mottled steatite, has a globular body in two halves resting on circular disc foot and surmounted by a four-tiered knob, perhaps intended to suggest a four-tiered honorific umbrella (chattra). It was found to contain one piece of calcined bone. Incised on the cover or upper part of the casket, in early Brahmi characters, is the following Prakrit inscription: 'Sapurisasa Majhimasa Kodiniputasa', ie, [the relics] of the worthy Majhimasa Kodiniputa.


Object details

Categories
Buddhism
Containers
Object type
Reliquary
Materials and techniques
lathe-turned mottled steatite
Turning
Brief description
Inscribed reliquary, steatite, lathe-turned, from Sonari, near Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh, ca. 200 BC
Physical description
The casket, of lathe-turned mottled steatite, has a globular body in two halves resting on circular disc foot and surmounted by a four-tiered knob, perhaps intended to suggest a four-tiered honorific umbrella (chattra). It was found to contain one piece of calcined bone. Incised on the cover or upper part of the casket, in early Brahmi characters, is the following Prakrit inscription: 'Sapurisasa Majhimasa Kodiniputasa', ie, [the relics] of the worthy Majhimasa Kodiniputa.
Dimensions
  • Both parts of the casket height: 2.75in
  • Diameter: 5.6cm
Marks and inscriptions
Sapurisasa majhimasa kodiniputasa (This inscription gives Majhima's full name as Majhima Kodiniputa, which has not been traced to any other sources)
Translation
[Relics] of the worthy Majhima Kodiniputa
Object history
Michael Willis dates the reliquary to the same period as the building of Stupa 2, i.e. Ist century BC, although Majhima, cited in the inscription, lived in the mid-3rd century BC and went to the Himalayas as a missionary with Kasapagota whose relics were interred in a matching reliquary in the same stupa, now in the B.M. ()A 1887.7-17.8
The fragment of bone was handed over to Professor M.S. Sundaram, representing the government of India on 18th June 1958.
Bibliographic references
  • Buddhist reliquaries from ancient India / Michael Willis with contributions by Joe Cribb and Julia Shaw. London: British Museum, 2000 Number: 0714114928 p. 86, fig. no. 16
  • Orientations; vol. 40. no. 4; May 2009; The Robert H.N. Ho Family Foundation Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum. John Guy; Adoring the Stupa, Adoring the Buddha: Kushan Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum p. 44
  • Willis, M. (ed.) India: the Art of the Temple, Shanghai Museum, 2010 pp.86-7, Cat.1:20
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
IM.221A-1921

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O450615/reliquary/
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