"Framed by rims with rope and lotus-petal designs, depicting three riders on an elaborately caparisoned elephant, the foremost holds an ankus (elephant goad) and ties his hair into a spherical chignon, the second holds a parasol and fly whisk, and the third holds a banner, possibly in the form of a stupa reliquary."

"One of six known examples, this silver roundel is a rare piece of decorative metalwork surviving form the early Gandharan period. Three others are held in the British Museum (1937,0319.4-6), one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1981.460.2), and another presumably in private hands.

Claringbull suggests that these would have ornamented the cockade of a turban, harness or belt. Behrendt also suggests a box or piece of furniture (Behrendt, The Art of Gandhara in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2007, p. 13).

She identifies the theme as a royal procession, noting that elephants commonly feature in early Indian depictions of such occasions, as do the four objects held in this roundel which comprise half of the ashtamangala, or eight auspicious objects. Furthermore, she proposes that the scene might commemorate a coronation. Meanwhile, Czuma identifying the object held by the last figure as a reliquary, suggests the scene represents the transportation of Buddha's relics: a popular narrative scene in early Buddhist art (Czuma, Kushan Sculpture, 1985, no. 73 a & b, pp. 155-6).

Lastly, Claringbull draws several comparisons with the medallions on stupa railings at Barhut, Bodh Gaya and Amaravati. For further discussion, see Errington et al., The Crossroads of Asia, Cambridge, 1992, pp. 160-1."

Bonhams

Provenance:

Private U.S. Collection

Acquired in London, 1990s