Antiquity · Rijksmuseum · 200106510
Fragment of a doorpost
anonymous, Mathura, 200 - 300
Rijksmuseum · Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam · AK-MAK-1186 · Public Domain · Bruikleen van de Koninklijke Vereniging van Vrienden der Aziatische Kunst (aankoop erven Wijnand Otto Jan Nieuwenkamp, 1968) · Public domain
- Artist
- anonymous, Mathura
- Date
- 200 - 300
- Medium
- sandstone
- Dimensions
- depth 18 cm × height 35 cm × width 28 cm
- Era
- Antiquity
Why it matters
This stone is carved with two scenes from the life of the Buddha, when he was still a prince. On the front, he is sending his carriage driver and horse back to the family palace from which he has just fled. He later meets a grass-cutter who gives him a bundle of freshly cut grass - an episode depicted on the side. The Buddha would later attain enlightenment seated on this bundle.