Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

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Buddhist chaityaside

© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

  • Buddhist chaitya (side)
  • Buddhist chaitya (detail)
  • Buddhist chaitya (detail)
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Buddhist chaitya

  • Description

    This monolithic Khmer chaitya, in the form of a miniature tower-shrine, once stood within a temple complex to mark the limits of the sacred precinct. Its principal deity is the goddess Prajnaparamita (‘The Perfection of Wisdom’), who personifies the transcendental knowledge embodied in the great Mahayana Buddhist Sutra (wisdom text) of that name. She holds a rosary and a sacred text in her upper hands. Also depicted on the chaitya are Avalokiteshvara and two indistinct female deities.

  • Details

    show all
    Associated place
    Asia › South-east Asia › Cambodia › Prasat Ta Mean (place of creation)
    Date
    mid-10th century AD
    Material and technique
    sandstone
    Dimensions
    110 x 33 x 36 cm approx., max. (height x width x depth)
    Material index
    inorganic › stone › sandstone
    Technique index
    formed › carved,
    carved
    Object type index
    communications equipment › boundary-marker,
    sculpture › figure › statue,
    religious/ritual equipment
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Purchased with the assistance of funds provided by the Art Fund, the MCG/ V&A Purchase Grant Fund, and the Friends of the Ashmolean Museum, 1999.
    Accession no.
    EA1999.102

  • Further reading

    Bunker, Emma C., and Douglas Latchford, Adoration and Glory: The Golden Age of Khmer Art, ed. John Stevenson (Chicago: Art Media Resources, 2004), no. 58 a & b on pp. 184-185

Glossary

chaitya

  • chaitya

    An early Buddhist or Jain shrine or assembly hall; or, a small Buddhist votive shrine representing a tower or miniature temple, placed within a temple complex.

Location

    • First floor | Room 32 | India from 600

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

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