Pillar abacus: elephants venerating the Rāmagrāma stupa
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This architectural element likely served as a pedestal for a seated lion, found atop commemorative pillars marking stupa entranceways. On its face is a herd of elephants venerating the Great Stupa at Ramagrama, where the eighth portion of the Buddha’s corporeal remains was interred. The scene reflects the account of the fifth-century CE Chinese pilgrim-monk Faxian, who retold the story of a group of elephants that regularly cleaned the stupa with water from their trunks and offered flowers. According to the inscription, the panel was gifted by two monastics, “the venerable Budhi and his sister, the nun Budha.”
Artwork Details
- Title: Pillar abacus: elephants venerating the Rāmagrāma stupa
- Period: Satavahana
- Date: late 1st century CE
- Culture: India, Amaravati Great Stupa, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh
- Medium: Limestone
- Dimensions: H. 12 13/16 in. (32.5 cm); W. 25 3/4 in. (68 cm); D. 16 9/16 in. (42 cm)
Display module with collar: H. 22 1/2 in. (54 cm); W. 33 1/4 in. (84.5 in.) D. 21 1/3 in. (54 cm) - Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Lent by British Museum, London
- Rights and Reproduction: © The Trustees of the British Museum
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art