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Life of the Buddha - Queen Maya’s Dream
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Life of the Buddha - Queen Maya’s Dream
PAKISTAN; circa 2nd century; Black schist; 16.5 x 19.4 cm;Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
The relief depicts the episode in which Queen Maya dreams of a white elephant with six gold tusks and a reddened head that descends from the sky and enters her right side. The top of the sculpture is largely defaced. Tenons located both above and below the center segment suggest it was once embedded in the wall of a building.
Here the Queen lies on her left side on a high bed with ornate legs. It is spread with a sheet decorated with rosettes and twisting vines. Several servants stand in attendance, one of whom, standing at the head of the bed, is armed with a sword. A round circular object at the center of the composition may have once had an elephant carved on it. |
