Antiquity · Cleveland Museum of Art · 1982.44
Double-Faced Crossbar from a Railing
Unknown maker, c. 150 BCE
Cleveland Museum of Art · The Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund · Public domain
- Artist
- Unknown maker
- Date
- c. 150 BCE
- Medium
- plum-colored sandstone
- Dimensions
- Overall: 55.9 x 66 cm (22 x 26 in.)
- Era
- Antiquity
Why it matters
This lens-shaped section of a crossbar is from one of the the earliest known Buddhist monuments in India to be embellished with stone relief carvings. It is from a circular fence that surrounded a stupa and demarcated the sacred space from the outside world.