Untitled

Unknown

second half of the 3rd century · Limestone · Asian Art

This panel depicts a grandly decorated stupa with the Buddha at its entrance, his hand raised to grant protection. The scene represents his descent, at the conclusion of the rainy season, from Trayastrimsa Heaven—the heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods presided over by Indra. The Buddha descended a golden ladder to the jubilation of devotees, seen here kneeling. This panel, likely once brilliantly polychromed, belongs to a small group of narrative reliefs that provide the greatest source of visual evidence of the appearance of these structures in the third and fourth centuries.

Artist

Unknown

Date

second half of the 3rd century

Medium

Limestone

Culture

India (Andhra Pradesh, Nagarjunakonda)

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1928