A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c16.s4: Section IV. Reliquaries and Gold Images
A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c16.s4
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Section IV. Reliquaries and Gold Images
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Numerous reliquaries or caskets—made of various materials, gold, silver, bronze, rock-crystal, &c.—have been excavated from *stūpas* in India and the neighbouring countries. Most of these, while of high archaeological interest, are of little account as works of art. One such may be briefly noticed because of the testimony borne by its contents to the disputed date of Kanishka, a matter which I have been obliged to touch on more than once. The reliquary referred to was found in the Ahīn Pōsh tope or *stūpa* at Jalālābād in the valley of the Kābul river, and is now in the Gem Room of the British Museum. It is simply a plain octagonal cylinder (if the expression be allowable) with a knob at each end set with green stones and almandine garnets. It contained one coin of Kanishka and one of Kadphises II (Wima). Lying around it were fourteen other coins of the same kings, with one piece of Huvishka, the successor of Kanishka, and one each of Domitian (A.D. 81–96), Trajan (A.D. 98–117), and Sabina Augusta, wife of Hadrian (A.D. 117–138). These facts plainly suggest, although they do not absolutely demonstrate, that Huvishka, the latest of the three Indian kings, must have been the builder of the *stūpa* and the contemporary of Hadrian. That natural inference is strongly confirmed by the additional facts that the single coin of Huvishka was in good condition, whereas some of the coins of his immediate predecessor, Kanishka, were 'much worn', and those of Kadphises II were 'very much worn'; while the one coin of Sabina Augusta was 'considerably worn'. In all probability, therefore, the coins were deposited not earlier than A.D. 130, Sabina having assumed the title of Augusta in 117. This evidence, not noticed or considered by Mr. R. D. Banerji, harmonizes so well with his view, based on inscriptions, that Huvishka reigned alone from A.D. 123 to 140, Kanishka having died in the former year, that at present I accept that theory of the chronology.¹ The dates to be assigned to the sculptures discussed in Chapters IV and V of this work depend in large measure on the date of Kanishka.
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¹ For the coins, &c., see *Proc. A. S. B.*, 1879, pp. 77, 209, 212, Pl. II, III, XI. A fragment of a Roman Ionic capital was obtained from the *stūpa*, as well as Corinthian capitals. In India proper Vāsishka intervened between Kanishka and Huvishka, but the latter probably succeeded Kanishka directly as Emperor.
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Two reliquaries, namely, that from the Bīmarān *stūpa* in the British Museum and that from Kanishka's *stūpa*, lately discovered at Peshāwar, can fairly claim rank as works of art, and are of considerable importance in the artistic history of India.
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The first-named casket, found long ago by Masson in the foundation deposit of No. 2 Bīmarān *stūpa* to the north of the road between Kābul and Jalālābād, and now in the British Museum, was associated with freshly minted coins of Azes I, and may, therefore, be dated about the beginning of the Christian era, or rather earlier. It is made of pure gold, about 2¾ inches high, and 2 inches in diameter, studded with rubies, and adorned with repoussé Buddhist figures and decorative designs (Plate LXXIV, Fig. B). Both the upper and lower rims are studded with *balās* rubies, separated by a four-petalled ornament of the kind known as *śrī-vatsa*. The circumference between the jewelled lines is divided into eight niches, which enclose four distinct figures, each repeated. Flat pilasters with sunken panels separate the niches, which are crowned by arches, circular below and pointed above. The interspaces, or spandrils, are filled up by cranes with outstretched wings. All the details are finely executed, and the whole composition takes high rank as a specimen of ancient goldsmith's work. The four distinct figures are (1) Buddha in the attitude of benediction; (2) lay follower, with his hands clasped in adoration; (3) a male ascetic, with twisted hair and a water-pot in his hand; and (4) a female disciple, praying. Nos. 2 and 4 are shown in the photograph. M. Foucher's engraving shows Nos. 1, 3, 4. Birdwood's figure places No. 3 in the centre, with No. 2 on the proper right and No. 1 on the proper left. The style bears a general resemblance to that of the earlier Gandhāra sculptures, with the important difference that the quasi-Corinthian capital, characteristic of Gandhāran art, is absent. The form of the arches also is not exactly the same as that of any Gandhāran sculpture known to me, and I think that the reliquary may be regarded as a precursor of the Gandhāra school.²
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² The casket or reliquary is described and engraved in *Ariana Antiqua*, p. 53, Pl. III, and Foucher, *L'Art gréco-bouddhique du Gandhāra*, p. 51, Fig. 7; and also by Birdwood, *Industrial Arts of India*, Pl. I. An open lotus is neatly incised on the bottom. The pilasters of the tope or *stūpa* were plain, quasi-Doric, with arches enclosed in double lines of mouldings, a clear indication of early age.
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The little gold statuette of Buddha in the British Museum (Plate LXXIV, Fig. C) evidently must have come, like the casket, from a *stūpa* deposit. Small gold or silver [Figure: FIG. A. Ancient Jade Tortoise, British Museum; 17½ in. long.
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[Figure: FIG. B. Bīmarān gold reliquary, British Museum. (Full size, from a photo.)]
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[Figure: FIG. C. Gold Buddha, British Museum. (Full size, from a photo.)]
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PLATE LXXIV. Jade and gold objects.
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images of Buddha have been frequently enshrined in the *dāgabas* of Ceylon.¹ Although the feet of the British Museum statuette are coarsely executed, the figure and hands are fairly well modelled. The style suggests the Gupta period, about A.D. 500.
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¹ *Ind. Ant.*, xiii, 15. Specimens are in the Colombo Museum.
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The second casket or reliquary claiming special notice, that recently excavated from the ruins of Kanishka's huge *stūpa* at Peshāwar, is of equal artistic and still greater historical interest. The material is an alloy of copper, which seems to have been gilt. The circular, *pyxis*-shaped, main body is nearly five inches in diameter and four inches in height, the total height, including the figures on the lid, being about 7 1/4 inches (187 mm.). Mr. Marshall's description is as follows:—
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‘The lid, which is slightly curved and incised to represent a full-blown lotus, supports three figures in the round; a seated Buddha in the centre, and a Bodhisattva on each side. The edge of the lid is further adorned by a frieze, in low relief, of flying geese bearing wreaths in their beaks; while below, on the body of the vase, is an elaborate design in high relief, of young Erotes bearing a continuous garland, in the undulations of which are seated Buddha-figures and attendant worshippers leaning towards them out of the background. But the chief and central figure on the casket is that of the Emperor Kanishka himself, standing erect with a winged celestial being bearing a wreath on either side. The figure of the Emperor is easily recognizable from his coins, but the identity is further proved by the inscriptions on the casket. These are in Kharoshṭhī and are four in number, punctured in dots in the leaves of the lotus on the top and on the background between the geese and other figures on the sides’ (Plate LXXV, Figs. A and B).
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From the point of view of the historian of art the most interesting of the four inscriptions is that which records the Greek name of Kanishka's ‘Superintending Engineer’. The words are:—‘The servant, Agiśala (Agesilaos), the overseer of works at Kanishka's *vihāra*, in the monastery (*sanghārāma*) of Mahāsena’. Indian inscriptions, apart from coin legends, present only two other Greek names. Kanishka's coin legends are in Greek characters, a fact which indicates that Greek was well known at his court.
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The surprisingly coarse style of the decoration is cited by Mr. Marshall and Dr. Spooner as convincing proof that in the time of Kanishka Indo-Hellenistic art was already decadent, and that consequently all the Gandhāra sculpture of good quality must be anterior to Kanishka.² I cannot accept those inferences. The low standard of execution of the repoussé figures on the casket must be admitted, but established facts negative the opinion that art was generally decadent in the days of Kanishka. His best gold coins are far superior to the work of the casket (*ante*, p. 351), and the Sanghāo sculptures, certainly executed in his reign, are among the better productions of the Gandhāra school, although not, perhaps, of the highest class (*ante*, Fig. 70). There is no doubt that many excellent sculptures at Mathurā and elsewhere must be referred to the reigns of Kanishka and his successor Huvishka, as Cunningham showed long ago (*ante*, pp. 99, 126, 131, 132, 148). Whatever be the correct explanation of the [Figure: FIG. A. Buddha and two Bodhisattvas on lid. (Photo. No. 393.)]
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² *J. R. A. S.*, 1909, pp. 1056–60, Pl. II.
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[Figure: FIG. B. One Bodhisattva only on lid; Kanishka standing below. (Photo. No. 390.)]
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PLATE LXXV. Kanishka's casket; *cir.* A. D. 100. (A. S. photo., Nos. 393 and 390.)
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inferior style of the Peshāwar reliquary, it cannot be that advanced by the Director-General of Archaeology in India. It may simply be that Kanishka did not command the services of any artist good at repoussé work. The geese in low relief are not bad. The date of the work may be taken as A. D. 100 in round numbers. The walls of the *stūpa* were decorated with rows of Buddha-figures in relief, separated by *Corinthian* pillars in stucco, a clear proof that the building dates from the time of the Roman Empire. The earlier Bīmarān *stūpa* had not Corinthian pillars.