Section of a Coping Rail

Description

The bells are intended to evoke the sounds that once accompanied the sacred space as much as visual ornamentation. A lion and a leonine figure with a human face bound enthusiastically as part of a parade of creatures who circle the monument in the proscribed clockwise direction. The exaggerated linear outlining of their features and the flatness of their bodies are stylistic features of relief sculpture from this period. The motif in the center has vegetal fronds symmetrically springing from a lotus rosette in the form of an auspicious symbol called shrivatsa, which is also found on the chests of Jinas-liberated beings of the Jain tradition-and the Hindu god Vishnu.

Provenance

Dr. John A. [1921–2011] and Maxeen Stone Flower [1928–2010], Shaker Heights, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art (?–2011); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2011–)

Section of a Coping Rail

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1–200 CE

Accession Number

2011.145

Medium

sandstone

Dimensions

Overall: 17.5 x 69 x 6.5 cm (6 7/8 x 27 3/16 x 2 9/16 in.)

Classification

Stone

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Maxeen and John Flower in honor of Dr. Stanislaw Czuma