The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 24, 2023

Section of a Coping Rail

c. 150 BC

India, Madhya Pradesh, Bharhut, Shunga Period

Sandstone

Overall: 30.5 x 122 cm (12 x 48 1/16 in.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Severance A. Millikin 1972.366

Location

not on view

Description

A coping rail is the top portion of a fence that connects the upright posts. Here, an undulating lotus rhizome blossoms with jewelry, and in the spaces between are scenes from two of the Buddha's past lives. At the left, a man eats a lizard, and then lies about its running off (Godha Jataka); at the right an ascetic performs a Vedic fire sacrifice (possibly the Rajovada Jataka).

Provenance
?–1972
Severance A. [1895-1985] and Greta [Marguerite Steckerl] Millikin [1903-1989], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1972–
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1972." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 60, no. 3 (1973): 63-115. Mentioned: fig. 316, p. 115 www.jstor.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 286 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 11 archive.org
Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. Masterworks of Asian Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 108–109
Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1972. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 27-March 18, 1973).

Tree and Serpent: The Evolution of Early Buddhist Art in India. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (July 23-November 13, 2023).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1972.366