A SMALL RARE ROCK CRYSTAL STUPA

The present work likely served as a reliquary deposited within a larger stupa or monument. Typically made of stone and bronze, stupas of gold and rock crystal are rare and were likely perquisites of the elite. The present work has been variously identified as originating from the Anuradhapura period of Sri Lanka, or the ancient region of Gandhara.

Compare the gilt parasol, rock crystal dome and cylindrical base in the present lot with a related Gandharan stupa published by I. Kurita in Gandharan Art, vol. II, Tokyo, 2003, pp. 249 and 263, cat. nos. 753 and 794-95, respectively. Examples of Sri Lankan rock crystal stupas are illustrated by U. von Schroeder in Buddhist Sculptures of Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, 1990, pp. 64-65, cat. nos. 2A-E.