Funerary Urn with Buddhist Auspicious Emblems
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.This funerary urn, with multiple impressions of Buddhist auspicious emblems, was recovered from a Buddhist context at the Pyu moated city of Sri Ksetra. The emblems include paired fish, conch shells, pots, and the srivatsa mark of one blessed with good fortune. In both form and function, it resonates with earlier pre-Buddhist Pyu funerary practices. The base is concave and has a “piecrust” rim. This tradition of urn burial, with stone versions reserved for royalty, has antecedents in pre-Buddhist Pyu Myanmar. The practice is also known in early Buddhist India, as excavations at Nagarjunakonda in coastal southern India have revealed.
cat no. 25
cat no. 25
Artwork Details
- Title: Funerary Urn with Buddhist Auspicious Emblems
- Date: 6th–8th century
- Culture: Central Myanmar
- Medium: Terracotta
- Dimensions: H. 7 7/8 in. (20 cm); Diam. 7 7/8 in. (20 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Lent by Thiri Khittaya (Śrī Ksetra) Archaeological Museum, Hmawza, Myanmar, private donation (2001/2/8)
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art