Foreigners and Non-Buddhists Drink, Dance, and Play Music, from a Buddhist Stupa Site

c. 100 CE
Overall: 49.6 x 150.5 cm (19 1/2 x 59 1/4 in.); First Section: 17.1 x 44.5 cm (6 3/4 x 17 1/2 in.); Second Section: 16.5 x 53 cm (6 1/2 x 20 7/8 in.); Third Section: 16 x 53 cm (6 5/16 x 20 7/8 in.)
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Download, Print and Share

Did You Know?

Wine cups made of silver were also used as Buddhist reliquaries in this region.

Description

These three relief panels are from a group thought to have been used as ornamental stair risers at a Buddhist monument. They may have led up to a platform on which was established a stupa for veneration by followers of Buddhism.

Phrygians with their trousers, tunics, and conical caps play music, dance, and clap, while Greek figures drink and carry wine. Naked figures and those wearing flowing robes and unusual hairstyles may be representatives of non-Buddhist sects, such as Jainism or the now defunct Ajivika religion. Bacchanalian scenes involving the ethnic and religious "other" were carved on the lower portions of public monuments in this multicultural region through which many international travelers passed during this time of heightened trade with the Mediterranean world.
Foreigners and Non-Buddhists Drink, Dance, and Play Music, from a Buddhist Stupa Site

Foreigners and Non-Buddhists Drink, Dance, and Play Music, from a Buddhist Stupa Site

c. 100 CE

Pakistan, Gandhara, Buner area, early Kushan period

Visually Similar Artworks

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.