Fragment of a railing coping: a stupa protected with handprints
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.According to early Buddhist texts, the “five-finger mark,” or handprint—applied with the right hand dipped in sandalwood or a mixture of flour and goat’s milk—was an auspicious device for warding off evil. Its application to the stupa, as seen here on the dome, added a powerful protective presence. It also provides a participatory role for worshippers. In encouraging merit-earning activity among his followers, the Buddha commended the gifting of banners, flowers, and canopies, and the placement on the stupa of “the [mark of the] five fingers.” The Buddha also sanctioned the imprint of the perfumed hand on doors to ward off evil forces, as is still commonplace in villages in India today.
Artwork Details
- Title: Fragment of a railing coping: a stupa protected with handprints
- Period: Shunga
- Date: ca. 150–100 BCE
- Culture: India, Bharhut Great Stupa, Satna district, Madhya Pradesh
- Medium: Sandstone
- Dimensions: Visible overall: H. 13 3/8 in. (34 cm); W. 16 9/16 in. (42 cm); D. 7 1/2 in. (19 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture
- Credit Line: Lent by National Museum, New Delhi
- Rights and Reproduction: Photo by Theirry Ollivier
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art