Sanchi sculpture

Sanchi sculpture

Architraves of the north gateway (toran) to the Great Stupa (stupa No. 1) at Sanchi, Madhya …

(credit: Art Resource—EB Inc.)

Early Indian sculpture that embellished the gateways of the Buddhist relic mound called the Great Stupa at Sanchi, in Madhya Pradesh, a magnificent monument of the 1st century BC. The two square posts of each gateway are topped by capitals of sculptured animals or dwarfs, surmounted by three crossbars that end in spirals and are covered with crowded relief sculptures depicting events of the Buddha's life. In the angle between the lowest crossbar and the pillar are sensuous figures of female earthly spirits.