A SCHIST RELIEF PANEL WITH SCENES OF BUDDHA'S FIRST SERMON AND PARINIRVANA


ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 2ND/3RD CENTURY6 1/2 x 18 in. (16.5 x 45.5 cm)
|犍陀羅 二/三世紀 片巖佛陀說法與涅槃石碑 Repeated Seated Buddha images on the front and side edges of this narrative panel depicting two scenes from Buddha's life give it a strong sense of cohesion. The scene on the left shows Buddha's passing into parinirvana. He is surrounded by mourners as he transcends the cycle of death and rebirth after reaching enlightenment. The scene on the right depicts an earlier moment from Buddha's life, signified by the deer seated under his throne and his hand set upon a wheel to his right. This scene depicts Buddha's First Sermon at Deer Park – his first enunciation of his achieved liberation from the fetters of rebirth. Thus, the juxtaposition of these two scenes on a single panel appears to forfeit chronology to instead impart a fundamental didactic on the transcendent nature of the Buddha. The British Museum holds a similar scene of Buddha's First Sermon at Deer Park (1979,0130.1). Provenance Private New Jersey Collection before 1969