Relief fragment depicting Prince Siddhartha, the future Buddha, cutting his hair in renunciation
On display
In this relief fragment, the prince uses a short sword to cut his hair, prior to becoming a wandering ascetic. The attendant receives his discarded turban.
Details
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Title
Relief fragment depicting Prince Siddhartha, the future Buddha, cutting his hair in renunciation
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Associated people
the Buddha (active c. 560 BC - c. 486 BC) (subject) -
Associated place
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Date
1st - 2nd century AD (AD 1 - 200)
Kushan Period (AD 50 - 600) -
Material and technique
grey schist
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Material index
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Technique index
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Object type
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Dimensions
29.5 x 25.3 x 4.2 cm max. (height x width x depth) -
No. of items
1
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Credit line
Purchased, 1997.
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Museum location
Ground floor | Gallery 12 | India to AD 600 -
Museum department
Eastern Art
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Accession no.
EA1997.246
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Further reading
Taddei, Maurizio, ‘Some Reflections on the Formation of the Buddha Image: Keynote Address’, Ellen M. Raven, ed., Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference of the European Association of South Asian Archaeologists, held at the Universiteit Leiden, 5-9 (Groningen: Egbert Forsten, 2008), pp. 3-4, illus. p. 5 fig. 1.3
Jongeward, David, Buddhist Art of Gandhara in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2019), no. 14 on p. 40
