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Railing coping

ca. 150–100 BCE
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
The inventiveness of the sculptors of the Bharhut Great Stupa is exemplified by this fragmentary section of a railing coping. Narrative vignettes framed by a meandering lotus vine likely illustrate jatakas—tales of the Buddha’s former lives as a bodhisattva (an enlightened being that refrains from entering nirvana in order to help others). Displays of wondrous gold jewelry typical of the Mauryan-Shungan periods (ca. 320–30 BCE) bracket each scene. In the center, rosette medallions, ear ornaments, amulet containers, and auspicious emblems hang from the mouths of lotus flowers. The lotus vine functions in the same manner as the wish-fulfilling tree, granting all desires; both miraculous plants flourish in Indra’s heaven. The beaded lower border supports a frieze of bells, their clappers visible, as if for ringing by passing devotees.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Railing coping
  • Period: Shunga
  • Date: ca. 150–100 BCE
  • Culture: India, Bharhut Great Stupa, Madhya Pradesh
  • Medium: Sandstone
  • Dimensions: H. 12 in. (30.5 cm); W. 48 1/16 in. (122 cm); D. 7 7/8 in. (20 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Lent by Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Severance A. Millikin
  • Rights and Reproduction: Courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art