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Drum slab with five Buddha life narratives

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.
Drum panels from the stupas at Nagarjunakonda are notable for their complex narrative decoration, featuring multiple registers, each of which often contain two independent scenes. The stories typically have a loose chronological order. This panel depicts five events, all following the Buddha’s Enlightenment: the Buddha gazing upon his empty throne (lower left), the serpent-protected Buddha preaching (lower right), the Buddha receiving gifts from the gods (middle left) and the first meal from the traveling merchants (middle right), and the Buddha delivering his first sermon, in the deer forest at Sarnath (above). The sculptor deploys posture and gesture to create a sense of spatial depth and dynamic interplay.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Drum slab with five Buddha life narratives
  • Period: Ikshvaku
  • Date: 3rd century CE
  • Culture: India, Nagarjunakonda, Gunter District, Andhra Pradesh
  • Medium: Limestone
  • Dimensions: H. 78 3/8 in. (199 cm); W. 39 3/8 in. (100 cm); D. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Lent by Archaeological Museum ASI, Nagarjunakonda, Andhra Pradesh
  • Rights and Reproduction: Photo by Theirry Ollivier
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art