id:			149139
accession number:	1977.64.a
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1977.64.a
updated:		2022-01-04 16:51:36.991000

Miniature Stone Reliquary or Toilette Casket, AD 1-100. Pakistan, Gandhara, probably Sirkap, early Kushan Period (AD 1-320). Gray schist; diameter: 4 cm (1 9/16 in.); overall: 4.2 cm (1 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Elizabeth B. Blossom 1977.64.a

title:				Miniature Stone Reliquary or Toilette Casket
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			AD 1-100
creation date earliest:		1
creation date latest:		100
current location:		242A Ancient India
creditline:			Bequest of Elizabeth B. Blossom
copyright:			

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culture:	Pakistan, Gandhara, probably Sirkap, early Kushan Period (AD 1-320)
technique:	gray schist
department:	Indian and Southeast Asian Art
collection:	Indian Art - Kushan, Gandhara
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Diameter: 4 cm (1 9/16 in.); Overall: 4.2 cm (1 5/8 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Kushan Sculpture: Images from Early India
	opening date:   1985-11-13T05:00:00
	<i>Kushan Sculpture: Images from Early India</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 13, 1985-January 5, 1986).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	(Ulrich von Schroeder [b. 1943], Zürich, Switzerland, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
	date: ?–1977
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 1977–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
The knob of the lid is gilded, as is the interior of the casket.

digital description: 


wall description: 
Tiny reliquaries holding the cremated remains of the Buddha or a high-ranking holy person empowered monuments and made them sacred. A Buddhist monument, such as the solid hemispherical mounds called stupas, would not be worshipped until it was consecrated with the relic secreted inside. Bits of ash were combined with tiny gems inside a crystal or glass reliquary, which was then placed inside a stone or metal container, like the lidded versions seen here. These containers look like cosmetic vessels for aromatic pastes used for perfume in ancient India. Buddhist texts state that the enlightened Buddha emitted a fragrance like sandalwood paste; the form of the reliquary as a perfume bottle indicates the presence of the Buddha by the visual reference to his pleasant scent. Once enclosed in the stupa the reliquaries would not be seen, but monks were tasked with applying sandalwood paste to the exterior of stupas as part of their regular maintenance to convey to visitors the ongoing presence of the Buddha radiating from the relic in the center.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1977.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>, vol. 65, no. 1, 1978, pp. 2–43.
	page number: 	Mentioned: no. 147, p. 43; Reproduced: no. 147, p. 30
	url:		https://www.jstor.org/stable/25159560

	Czuma, Stanislaw J., and Rekha Morris. <em>Kushan Sculpture: Images from Early India</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1985.
	page number: 	Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 84, p. 170
	url:		

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IMAGES