CHINA, PROBABLY CHENGDE, LATE 17TH-18TH CENTURY

The shape of this small stupa appears to be based on those of larger size, such as the pair of much larger gilt-copper stupas on their original stands, in the Pavilion of Raining Flowers in the Forbidden City, Beijing, see Cultural Relics of Tibetan Buddhism Collected in the Qing Palace, Beijing, 1998, p. 250. The present example is distinguished by the diminutive image of Buddha Shakyamuni within a niche at the front center, protected by a small piece of glass or rock crystal.