Platform panel (ayaka) or courtyard enclosure
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This magnificent frieze likely adorned an offering platform (ayaka) on the Great Stupa of Phanigiri monastery. It consists of seven narrative medallions separated by pilasters. Each episode comes from the Mandhata-avadana, a story about a virtuous king who becomes infatuated with his own powers and is cast down by the gods. The lower frieze depicts noble animals in motion: a buffalo, griffin, bull, hybrid creature, elephant, ram, lion, boar, and deer. The botanical motifs decorating the pilasters underscore the hybridity of Ikshvaku art of this time, combining Indian lotuses and Hellenistic acanthus leaves.
Artwork Details
- Title: Platform panel (ayaka) or courtyard enclosure
- Period: Ikshvaku
- Date: 3rd–4th century CE
- Culture: India, Phanigiri, Suryapet district, Telangana
- Medium: Limestone
- Dimensions: H. 24 in. (61 cm); W. 85 1/16 in. (216 cm); D. 4 5/16 in. (12 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Lent by Department of Heritage, Telangana, Hyderabad
- Rights and Reproduction: Photo by Theirry Ollivier
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art