Rijksmuseum

Fragment of a doorpost

Date

c. 100 - c. 200

Medium

sandstone

Institution

Rijksmuseum

A man, dressed as hunter, is visiting a queen. Her pose conveys sadness. This may be an illustration of a scene from the Saddantajataka, a Buddhist story. In this story, the tusks of a dead elephant are presented to the queen of Benares, who, in her previous life, was the consort of the dead elephant. Such an interpretation remains problematic, however, due to the fragmentary nature of the carving.

The authoritative record is held by Rijksmuseum. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.