Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Railing coping with forest dwellers scaling or quarrying a rock face
India, Bharhut Great Stupa, Madhya Pradesh
Not on view
A wish-fulfilling lotus vine (kalpalata)—a miraculous plant that rewards devotees with material riches—decorates this railing coping, with jewels emerging from its flowers. The adjacent scene shows a mountain landscape, indicated by the cubic patterns of rock formations. Two men, dressed in leaf skirts, scale the mountain by driving pegs into the rock face. Whether the pair are quarrying or climbing in search of forest products is unclear. This scene, unique in Indian art, undoubtedly illustrates an ancient Buddhist story, a jataka or avadana. While the exact story referenced here remains unidentified, it might be the Chaddanta-jataka (The Six-Tusked Elephant), which describes this technique of rock climbing.
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