A stone model of the Mahabodhi temple

NORTHEASTERN INDIA, PALA PERIOD, 11TH CENTURY

Details

A stone model of the Mahabodhi temple
Northeastern India, Pala period, 11th century
The rectangular mandapa with the entrance flanked by two columns and standing bodhisattvas, the sides carved with two running friezes of seated buddhas with a frieze of makara heads in between, and the reverse with a large doorway, the top surmounted by a pyramidal superstructure with tiered carvings of buddhas in niches topped by a gilt stupa, two small shrines at the corners and a bodhi tree in the rear
6¾ in. (17.2 cm.) high

Provenance

Onno Janssens Collection, Netherlands, acquired in New York by 1999

Literature

Himalayan Art Resources, www.himalayanart.org, item no. 66716

Lot Essay

The Mahabodhi temple underwent a reconstruction in circa 1092 sponsored by the Burmese in which certain changes and additions were made, and are used to help date the approximately twenty surviving models of the site, originally made as souvenirs for pilgrims. Specifically, the reconstruction removed the Parinirvana scene that appears above the doorway at the base of the superstructure of this model, suggesting an 11th century date for the present example.
For an example of a similar model, see Rossi and Rossi, Sculpture from a Sacred Realm, 1995, p. 51, cat. no. 20.

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