Ayaka cornice with four narrative roundels
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This beautifully realized panel presents four key moments in the Buddha’s spiritual journey (right to left): Prince Siddhartha proclaims his intention to renounce his royal privilege, leaves his father’s palace in the Great Departure, resists the temptations of the demonic celestial king Mara, and delivers a sermon as the Buddha. Sculpted in a mature Nagarjunakonda style, each scene is contained within a lotus-edged roundel separated by amorous couples (mithunas) who stand on lotus pedestals between garlanded pilasters. Acanthus-leaf designs luxuriantly fill the voids surrounding the roundels. A long inscription on the upper molding records it as the gift of the leader of a guild, dedicated in the late third century CE.
Artwork Details
- Title: Ayaka cornice with four narrative roundels
- Period: Ikshvaku
- Date: late 3rd century CE
- Culture: India, Nagarjunakonda, Gunter District, Andhra Pradesh
- Medium: Limestone
- Dimensions: H. 22 1/6 in. (56 cm); W. 100 13/16 in. (256 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