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Torana terminal with makara, lion, and rider

3rd century CE
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Among the most spectacular aspects of the great gateways (toranas) marking the entrances to stupa pathways—apart from sheer grandeur and scale—were the wondrous animals that projected from the ends of the gateway crossbars. This torana terminal depicts a lion with a diminutive human rider leaping from the jaws of a sea monster (makara). Prior to the excavation of this terminal in the 1960s, such gateways were known only from depictions in Andhra stupa sculptural reliefs. In 2002–3 the excavation at the Phanigiri monastery uncovered large sections of a similar gateway.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Torana terminal with makara, lion, and rider
  • Period: Ikshvaku
  • Date: 3rd century CE
  • Culture: India, reportedly Kesanapalli, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh
  • Medium: Limestone
  • Dimensions: Overall: H. 22 3/4 in. (57.8 cm); W. 15 1/2 in. (39.4 cm); D. 39 in. (99.1 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Lent by Baudhasri Archaeological Museum, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh
  • Rights and Reproduction: Photo by Theirry Ollivier
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art