Untitled

Unknown

ca. 5th–6th century · Copper alloy · Asian Art

This vessel is of great importance, not only for the near completeness of this rarely seen form but also for its pictorial content. The scenes depict the Gauttila Jataka, a story of one of the Buddha’s past lives in which a musical competition is instigated by a king at his court in Varanasi after an ambitious pupil challenges his master for the position of court musician. The scenes of southern Indian court life are unique in Indian metalwork; almost no secular or religious metalwork survives from the first millennium in southern India.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 5th–6th century

Medium

Copper alloy

Culture

Southern India, probably Andhra Pradesh

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1975