Prince Siddhartha's Archery Contest and Devadatta and the Elephant
Frieze
late 1st century (made)
late 1st century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This curved frieze panel shows two scenes. On the lower right a figure of prince Siddhartha, seen in profile to the left, wearing Iranian dress, riding a stockily built horse with his back slightly turned as he bends the bow aiming at a target hung in a tree Two admiring figures are behind.
The scene on the left of the lower frieze is badly damaged. It shows two incidents in the story of Devadatta and the elephant. On the right we recognize the front of the elephant's body as it enters through the city gate. The head is lowered, and its trunk hangs down to the ground between the legs. In front of the animal stands Devadatta grabbing the elephant with his left hand. Next we see Nanda dragging the dead beast (which emerges behind Devadatta) against the city wall. The two scenes are divided by rectangular panels enclosing squat pillars with capitals.
On the upper scene we see two figures on the right carrying some object. In the centre a figure of the Buddha in profile sits on a low cushion-covered base raising his hand in the act of teaching. Behind his head a nimbus in profile is seen. A youth stands in front raising his hand. Behind the Buddha there is a figure of Vajrapani who is seated on the corner of the Buddha's seat, holding a large thunderbolt in his uplifted right hand. The third scene on the right we see two ascetics by the side of a rustic hut in front of the Buddha who is sitting on a rock holding an alms bowl on his left knee. Behind him sits Vajrapani next to a small tree. The figures on this left side are badly damaged.
The registers are divided by a straight garland of laurel leaves with a further architrave at the top decorated with upstanding petal motifs.
The scene on the left of the lower frieze is badly damaged. It shows two incidents in the story of Devadatta and the elephant. On the right we recognize the front of the elephant's body as it enters through the city gate. The head is lowered, and its trunk hangs down to the ground between the legs. In front of the animal stands Devadatta grabbing the elephant with his left hand. Next we see Nanda dragging the dead beast (which emerges behind Devadatta) against the city wall. The two scenes are divided by rectangular panels enclosing squat pillars with capitals.
On the upper scene we see two figures on the right carrying some object. In the centre a figure of the Buddha in profile sits on a low cushion-covered base raising his hand in the act of teaching. Behind his head a nimbus in profile is seen. A youth stands in front raising his hand. Behind the Buddha there is a figure of Vajrapani who is seated on the corner of the Buddha's seat, holding a large thunderbolt in his uplifted right hand. The third scene on the right we see two ascetics by the side of a rustic hut in front of the Buddha who is sitting on a rock holding an alms bowl on his left knee. Behind him sits Vajrapani next to a small tree. The figures on this left side are badly damaged.
The registers are divided by a straight garland of laurel leaves with a further architrave at the top decorated with upstanding petal motifs.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Prince Siddhartha's Archery Contest and Devadatta and the Elephant (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Carved grey schist |
| Brief description | Curved frieze with scenes of archery contest, dead elephant, grey schist, 1st century Gumbat, Swat Valley. |
| Physical description | This curved frieze panel shows two scenes. On the lower right a figure of prince Siddhartha, seen in profile to the left, wearing Iranian dress, riding a stockily built horse with his back slightly turned as he bends the bow aiming at a target hung in a tree Two admiring figures are behind. The scene on the left of the lower frieze is badly damaged. It shows two incidents in the story of Devadatta and the elephant. On the right we recognize the front of the elephant's body as it enters through the city gate. The head is lowered, and its trunk hangs down to the ground between the legs. In front of the animal stands Devadatta grabbing the elephant with his left hand. Next we see Nanda dragging the dead beast (which emerges behind Devadatta) against the city wall. The two scenes are divided by rectangular panels enclosing squat pillars with capitals. On the upper scene we see two figures on the right carrying some object. In the centre a figure of the Buddha in profile sits on a low cushion-covered base raising his hand in the act of teaching. Behind his head a nimbus in profile is seen. A youth stands in front raising his hand. Behind the Buddha there is a figure of Vajrapani who is seated on the corner of the Buddha's seat, holding a large thunderbolt in his uplifted right hand. The third scene on the right we see two ascetics by the side of a rustic hut in front of the Buddha who is sitting on a rock holding an alms bowl on his left knee. Behind him sits Vajrapani next to a small tree. The figures on this left side are badly damaged. The registers are divided by a straight garland of laurel leaves with a further architrave at the top decorated with upstanding petal motifs. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Presented by Barger and Wright |
| Object history | Acquired from Evert Barger, Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Bristol and Philip Wright, V&A Museum, as part of the collection of finds excavated during their expedition to the Swat valley in 1938. The panel is No. 71 in Barger's lists. The site of Gumbat (Pashto for ‘stupa’) was first visited by Sir Aurel Stein in 1926 (Stein. M.A. An Archaeological Tour in Upper Swat and Adjacent Hill Tracts. Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India, 42. Calcutta). It was visited in 1938 by E. Barger and P. Wright during their expedition to Swat and Afghanistan. Despite considerable looting it has been and continues to be an important site and it has been excavated further by the Italian Archaeological Mission (IsIAO) from 1956, in 2005 and from 2011and 2012 in collaboration with the Pakistan government under the Pakistan-Italian Debt Swap Agreement (PIDSA). Evert Barger, Lecturer in Medieval History, University of Bristol, and Philip Wright, from the Indian Section of the V&A Museum, undertook a survey and excavation of the site during their expedition to Swat. Philip Wright with T.D. Weatherhead, working as surveyor and photographer, were largely responsible for the excavation work in Swat where they stayed for two months in the summer of 1938 while Barger travelled on to Afghanistan. Forty fragments of architectural and sculptural objects were brought back to England, of which 16 were acquired by the V&A Museum. The residue of the collection, which had been left in store at the museum was acquired in 1961. Photographs of the expedition by Weatherhead are in the British Library in the collection of William Vernon Emanuel, who was also a member of the expedition. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | IM.79-1939 |
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| Record created | February 19, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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