Beschreibung:

A SANDSTONE STELE OF BUDDHANORTHERN INDIA, 10TH/11TH CENTURY
45 cm (17 3/4 in.) high Footnotes印度北部 十/十一世紀 砂岩佛陀碑
Published:
Robert Brown, "The Sravasti Miracles in the Art of India and Dvaravati", in Archives of Asian Art, Vol. 37, 1984, p. 86, fig. 10.  
Provenance:
With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970s
Visual representations of the Buddha's miracles at Sravasti have garnered interest among scholars due to the complexity of reconciling images with textual sources they may represent. Robert Brown posits that the imagery in this stele and others are a conflation of two miracles—namely, the Multiplication miracle and the Mango Tree miracle—both of which allude to the Buddha's phenomenal abilities. His hypothesis derives from an interpretation of this stele as a visual fusion between the Sanskrit and Pali sources. Coming from Sanskrit sources, the multiplication miracle describes the Buddha as seated on a lotus, as depicted here, reproducing his own likeness. The mango tree miracle, whose leaves and fruit are depicted in the apex, describes in Pali texts the Buddha's performance of a miracle under a mango tree to thwart disbelieving heretics. However, other scholars have proposed that the mango leaves simply locate the scene to Sravasti, rather than reference the numerous miracles which were said to have occurred in this sacred part of India.
 
Whichever may be the case, the representation of the multiplication miracle is clearly shown in this stele by the triad of Buddhas each facing separate directions. The miracle demonstrates the Buddha's omnipresence, resulting in the creation of multiple copies of himself in both the terrestrial and celestial realms. Underneath the vines from which the lotus seat emerges are three kneeling devotees. This iconographic layout follows other examples dated to the 8th and 12th centuries from Bihar, including an example in the Huntington Archive (4076).
This work was previously attributed to the Pala period. However, this stele is made from a softer sandstone than is usual during that period, contrasting with the tighter grain and higher polish of typical blackstone steles. Moreover, the incised halos behind the Buddhas' heads are not characteristic of Pala craftsmanship, nor are the thick lines along the double-lotus pedestal. Although it is difficult to locate this piece to a single region beyond North India, the incised scrollwork around the border, the style of robe, and the overall shape of the lotus throne with grooved petals coincide with a 11th century seated Buddha from Sarnath, also illustrated in the Huntington Archive (371).