DIVISION AND TRANSPORT OF CORPOREAL RELICS
Description
A slightly concave slab which seems to have provided the base to a small stupa, has carvings in three horizontal panels. After the Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha, a dispute arose among the devotees about his relics, which everybody wanted to possess. They were ultimately distributed among the different tribes to be reposited in their own stupas. This is probably why this particular scene is often found illustrated on circular slabs which originally represented the stupa.
Collection
Buddhist Art
Object Type
Architectural fragment Figurine
Material
Grey Schist
Schools/Culture/Period
Gandharan
Technique
--
Date
3rd century CE
Location
Gandhara, Pakistan
Dimension
24 x 51 x 6 cms.