Page 21 - Met Museum Ghandara Incense Burner
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Figure  37. Reliquary.  Gandhara,  2nd or  3rd century  a.d. Diam.
              5.2  cm. The  Metropolitan  Museum  of Art,  Gift of Samuel
              Eilenberg, 1987 (  1987.1 42. 45a,b)




                                                                Figure 38.  Detail of a  guardian figure  on the base of the
                                                                incense burner in  Figure  1



              been  flourishing  for four hundred  years  on the re-   spheres."  Roth  explained  further  that the two  stanzas
              mainder  of the Indian subcontinent.  the second  cen-   "convey   message  of the Buddha which  is to
                                                                       a universal
                                             By
                                for the
                                                   of
              tury  B.C. a  vocabulary   representation  episodes   be carried  by  the two bells on  top  of the  stupa  when
              in the life of the Buddha and other Buddhist  themes   blowing  winds  produce  their  sound: 'Make a  beginning
                                                 of
              was  already  established. On the  railing  Stupa  2 at   of  your  efforts,  set aside the follies of the  world,  devote
              Sanchi,  which dates to the second  century  B.C.,  the   yourself  to the  teachings  of the Buddha,  because he
              lotus is  represented  in its manifold variations.96  The   who is  going  to dwell  in the  Discipline  of the Buddha's
                     which
              symbols      represent  the  major episodes  in the life   Law,  will effect an end to  suffering,  abandoning  the
              of the Buddha are illustrated as  if  they  are  coming  out of   cycle  transmigration through  rebirth!'"101
                                                                    of
              a lotus tree of life. The birth of the Buddha is  repre-   The burner also reminds us of a  stupa.  The lotus
              sented  the Hindu  goddess  Lakshmi  on a lotus  issuing   bowl looks like an inverted  dome of a  stupa,  as on a
                    by
              forth from the branches of a lotus tree  (Figure  34)  ,97  stone  reliquary  in the  shape  of a  stupa  in the Metro-
              The  Enlightenment  represented by  the Bodhi tree   politan  Museum  (Figure  35).  The  tray  or dish to catch
                                is
              under  which  the Buddha attained  Enlightenment;98   embers is in the form of a standard umbrella on the
                                                           it
              issues forth from a lotus tree of life. In a similar fash-  shaft of a  stupa.  This form has numerous variations  in
              ion, the Sarnath              built  upon  the  spot   Buddhist art and architecture.102 The burner stands
                            pillar, presumably
              where the Buddha  preached  his first  sermon,99  and   on a  square  base, and four  figures support  the base,
              the  stupa,  both a memorial mound and the  symbol  of   thereby emphasizing  its corners.  Around  stupas  there
              his  Parinirvana,  or  final  Enlightenment,100  come   are often four  pillars, again emphasizing  the  square.  A
              forth from a lotus.                               miniature bronze  stupa  in the  Metropolitan  Museum
                The two bells on  top  of the burner are  enigmatic.   and its four columns also issue forth from  foliage,
              Bells are used in Indian  religious  contexts to remind  while  rearing  animals are used to  support  the cor-
              the  deity  that one has come to invoke his  presence.   ners of  the  platform (Figure 36).   The   top   of the
              However,  Gustave  Roth translated two  important  Bud-  finial of the burner is  capped by  a lotus and looks
              dhist  passages  intended to  accompany  and elucidate  like one of the  many  small  reliquary  boxes we know
              the  earliest  images  of  the  Buddha. One  reference  from the Buddhist  world,  among  them a stone  example
              states,  "The two bells  [represent]  the two  stanzas,  this  in the  Metropolitan  Museum  (Figure  37)  and a fine
              noble  jewel,  that reach [all] beings belonging  to their   gold example  in the British  Museum,  London.103
                                                                                                            89
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