A SMALL RARE ROCK CRYSTAL STUPA

ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA OR SRI LANKA, 2ND-4TH CENTURY

Details

A SMALL RARE ROCK CRYSTAL STUPA
ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA OR SRI LANKA, 2ND-4TH CENTURY
The cylindrical base supporting the spherical drum surmounted by a stone harmika and gilt-bronze parasols, which are adorned with filigree stipple pattern, the drum interred with gold and stone beads
4 ¼ in. (10.8 cm.) high

Provenance

Dale Crawford, Ltd., London, 12 September 1986.
The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago.

Literature

P. Pal, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago, 1997, pp. 85 and 292, cat. no. 93.
A. Proser (ed.), Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art, New Haven, 2010, p. 61, cat. no. 16.

Exhibited

The Art Institute of Chicago, “A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection,” 2 August-26 October 1997, cat. no. 93.
University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, "In the Footsteps of the Buddha: An Iconic Journey from India to China," 26 September-15 December 1998, cat. no. 32.
New York, Asia Society Museum, "Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art," 16 March-20 June 2010, cat. no. 16.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Vicki Paloympis

alsdorfcollection@christies.com +1 212 636 2180

Lot Essay

The present work likely served as a reliquary deposited within a larger stupa or monument. Typically made of stone and bronze, stupas of gold and rock crystal are rare and were likely perquisites of the elite. The present work has been variously identified as originating from the Anuradhapura period of Sri Lanka, or the ancient region of Gandhara.

Compare the gilt parasol, rock crystal dome and cylindrical base in the present lot with a related Gandharan stupa published by I. Kurita in Gandharan Art, vol. II, Tokyo, 2003, pp. 249 and 263, cat. nos. 753 and 794-95, respectively. Examples of Sri Lankan rock crystal stupas are illustrated by U. von Schroeder in Buddhist Sculptures of Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, 1990, pp. 64-65, cat. nos. 2A-E.

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