Possibly Burma
Thirteenth century CE
Yellow pyrophyllite; 16.5 x 10.4 x 4.1 cm
(6-1/2 x 4-1/8 x 1-5/8 in.)
Ackland Fund, 97.14.1
Provenance: Acquired 9 June 1997 from Peter Marks Gallery, New York.

The scenes on this stele represent significant moments in the life of the Buddha. Arranged like a mandala, they reinforce Buddhist doctrine and guide the viewer on a symbolic pilgrimage of the holiest sites of Buddhist history. The central scene depicts Shakyamuni Buddha at the moment of enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. He sits in meditation on a double lotus throne, supported by serpent-hooded (naga) kings, attended by standing bodhisattvas under the Bodhi tree, displaying the earth-touching gesture (bhumisparshamudra). The tumultuous army of Mara, sent to distract the Buddha from his meditation, is represented by the stack of smaller figures above the bodhisattvas.

At the summit of the stele is the death of the Buddha (Mahaparinirvana), attended by mourning figures and celestial beings and framed by a pair of shala trees. Along the periphery are key events at sites that became pilgrimage centers in northern India. At top left is the taming of the elephant Nalagiri at Rajgir, denoted by the small elephant at the Buddha’s feet. Immediately below, the Buddha, displaying the wheel-turning gesture (dharmachakramudra) and seated cross-legged on a pedestal adorned by a wheel and flanked by two small deer, delivers his first sermon to what may be the group of five ascetics at Sarnath. Next, the Buddha holds a bowl in his lap, the monkey’s offering of honey at Vaishali. Below, the emaciated body represents an earlier phase of asceticism in his quest for enlightenment. On the right, below the reclining Buddha, is the descent from heaven and arrival at Sankashya. The Buddha holds his hand in the boon-giving gesture, attended by two figures on the left and Indra on right, holding an umbrella over his head. Below is the miracle at Shravasti, where the Buddha confounded and converted heretics. The birth of the Buddha follows, represented by his mother Maya in the gardens at Lumbini. Next, the Buddha meditates under the triple headed serpent, Muchilinda.1

Between these scenes and in conjunction with the central image, additional figures represent the Seven Stations, or seven weeks following the enlightenment. Two are standing, followed by two seated cross-legged, and finally, one holding a bowl (left) and meditating under the serpent Muchilinda (right). Below, two monk-like figures in anjalimudra may represent the disciples, Sariputra and Maudgalyayana.2

Many elements of this stele draw upon conventions established in Pala-period sculpture (from the eighth to twelfth centuries) in Bengal and Bihar.3 The organization of the stele, foregrounding one scene and framing it with seven other life scenes, became popular during the Pala period.4 Ornamental motifs including the lions and elephants adorning the pedestal, the nagas raising the Buddha, the form of the double lotus throne, and the scrolling foliate ornamentation are typical of Pala sculpture.5 While representation of the Seven Stations was rare in Pala-period sculpture, it had been established in Sri Lankan literature and visual arts, and its deployment on this stele indicates Burma’s interaction with the island’s Pali communities.6 The depiction of the Buddha meditating under Muchilinda, a prominent subject in the arts of Southeast Asia, points to the rich interweaving of Buddhist imagery, along with religious beliefs and artistic practices from Southeast Asia in Burma.7 Characteristic of Burmese representations of the Buddha are the large head, prominent urna between the eyes, broad-shouldered torso and downward tilt of the face merging the jaw into the neck and chest.8 DCL

1 For another piece including the Muchilinda scene in this location, see Gordon H. Luce, Old Burma-Early Pagan (Artibus Asiae and the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University), plate 401.
2 See Susan L. Huntington and John C. Huntington, Leaves from the Bodhi Tree: The Art of Pala India (8th–12th centuries) and Its International Legacy (Dayton and Seattle: The Dayton Art Institute and the University of Washington Press, 1989), 221. Susan Huntington suggests that these figures may indicate the emphasis on monasticism that emerged as early as the Pagan period.
3 This was a prominent area of Buddhist activity as it included some of the most sacred sites such as Bodh Gaya and Nalanda, which were pilgrimage centers during this period.
4 Grouping of life scenes dates back to the Kushan period, but this compositional type was standardized and popularized during the Pala period. On the codification of the Eight Life Scenes, see Janice Leoshko, “Scenes of the Buddha’s Life in Pala Period Art,” Silk Road Art and Archaeology 3 (1993/4): 251–276.
5 See Hiram Woodward, “The Indian Roots of the ‘Burmese’ Life-of-the-Buddha Plaques” Silk Road Art and Archaeology 5 (1997/8): 395–407; and Steven Kossak, “A Group of Miniature Pala Stelae from Bengal” Orientations 29.7 (July/August 1998): 19–27.
6 The theme of the Seven Stations may have been established when King Kyanzittha of Burma (1084–1113 CE), seeking to collect and purify the sacred Pali texts of Buddhism, designated Sri Lanka as the source of the authentic, orthodox records, Huntington and Huntington, 200–201, 218.
7 Huntington and Huntington, 220.
8 Huntington and Huntington, 219. Woodward has labeled Buddhas of this style to be “robust” and states that Buddhas of similar proportion can be found in mural paintings in Pagan (Nandamannya). However, he notes that this style is not isolated solely to Burma, and examples of the style can be seen in India such as in the 1225 Bengali palm leaf manuscript of the Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita and an unfinished stone Buddha at Kasra Kol. See Hiram Woodward, “The Indian Roots,” 395–407, and Woodward, “Influence and Change: Burma and Thailand in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries” Arts of Asia (Mar/Apr 1994): 99–104. Moreover, Kossak states that short-necked Buddhas occur in thirteenth- to fourteenth-century Tibetan and Central Asian thangkas. He argues that since Burma was not a pilgrimage center for either of these areas, it may be an indication that the style was taken from an Indian model, Kossak, 26.