Worship at a Stupa, from the railing of the Bharhut Stupa

Object Details

• Label

  This carving, from a stupa at the site of Bharhut in northwest India, provides an early document of Buddhist faith and art. Images of a man and a woman are repeated three times to represent their movement as they walk around the stupa and kneel before it in worship. Flying celestial beings above bear offerings of flower garlands with which to adorn the dome of the stupa. Hand prints on the stupa's base indicate worship by ritual touching.

• Provenance

  Early 2nd century BCE-?

  Stupa of Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh, India [1]

  ?-?

  Unidentified owner, India

  From at least 1913 or 1914-?

  Rai Bahadur Radha Krishna (d. 1931), method of acquisition unknown in India [2]

  Possibly early 1910s-before May 1932

  Unidentified individual, England and India, method of acquisition unknown in India [3]

  Before May 1932-July 1932

  Hagop Kevorkian, New York, NY, purchased from Unidentified individual, England and India, in England [4]

  From July 1932

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Hagop Kevorkian [5]

  Notes:

  [1] The fence-rails F1932.25 and F1932.26 are from the Stupa of Bharhut in Madhya Pradesh, India.

  The fence-rails were first published in 1879 by Alexander Cunningham (1814-1893), a British engineer and archaeologist, in the book “The Stupa of Bharhut: A Buddhist Monument Ornamented with Numerous Sculptures Illustrative of Buddhist Legend and History in the Third Century B.C.” Cunningham first visited the Stupa of Bharhut in 1873. In 1874, he returned to explore, excavate, and document the site. See Alexander Cunningham, “The Stupa of Bharhut: A Buddhist Monument Ornamented with Numerous Sculptures Illustrative of Buddhist Legend and History in the Third Century B.C.,” [book] (London: Wm. H. Allen and Co., 1879), ill. plate XXXI, fig. 1 and fig. 2. F1932.25 is described as “2. Dharma Chakra.” F1932.26 is described as “1. Stupa.”

  See also John E. Lodge, object record sheet remark, dated 1932, pp. 1-2, copy in object file.

  [2] In 1971, the French dealer Paul Mallon (1884-1975) reported to Curator John A. Pope that, in 1913 or 1914, Rai Bahadur Radha Krishna of Mathura offered the fence-rails to him. See John A. Pope, object record sheet remark, dated 1971, p. 4, copy in object file. In Pope’s remark, Rai Bahadur Radha Krishna is referred to as “Radha Krishna Rai Bahadur of Nathura.” Further research is required to verify this information.

  Rai Bahadur Radha Krishna (Rai Bahadur Pandit Radha Krishna) of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India worked at the Mathura Museum of Archaeology (now the Government Museum of Mathura) beginning in 1908 as an Associate Curator and by 1914 as Honorary Curator. A few months prior to his sudden death on May 4, 1931, he had been given the title of Honorary Managing Director. During his time at the museum, he helped to grow the collection through purchases and excavations funded by the Government of India. Rai Bahadur Radha Krishna is known to have carried out excavations in the early 1910s and had worked with Dr. J. Ph. Vogel (Jean Philippe Vogel) (1871-1958), a Dutch scholar that worked with the Archaeological Survey of India from 1901 to 1914.

  [3] Hagop Kevorkian acquired the objects in England from a British subject who had lived in India and had owned the slabs for twenty years. See Lodge, object record sheet, p. 2. Precisely when Kevorkian purchased the objects is unknown. The objects were received from Kevorkian at the Freer Gallery of Art on May 10, 1932. See memo dated May 10, 1932, copy in object file. The objects are described as “2 Indian sculptures.”

  [4] See note 4.

  Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962) was a dealer and collector of Islamic art with eponymous galleries in New York and Paris.

  [5] See object file for copy of Hagop Kevorkian invoice to Freer Gallery of Art, dated July 1, 1932, and marked approved on July 1, 1932. Objects are described as “2 stone reliefs from the Stupa at Bharhut, India.”

  Research updated April 5, 2023

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Body Image (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Arts of the Indian Subcontinent and the Himalayas (October 16, 2004 to January 3, 2016)

  Buddhist Art (May 9, 1993 to August 9, 2011)

  The Arts of South Asia (May 13, 1985 to December 2, 1985)

  The Ramayana (July 18, 1983 to April 15, 1984)

  Hindu and Buddhist Art (April 1, 1982 to July 18, 1983)

  Hindu and Buddhist Art (January 28, 1981 to September 24, 1981)

  Indian Art (January 1, 1963 to January 28, 1981)

  Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Art, Gallery 8 (July 15, 1958 to January 1, 1963)

  Centennial Exhibition, West Corridor (February 25, 1956 to July 11, 1958)

  Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Paintings and Sculpture (October 2, 1947 to February 25, 1956)

  Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Paintings, Gallery 7 (January 10, 1945 to October 2, 1947)

  Untitled Exhibition, Freer South Corridor (December 4, 1944 to February 25, 1956)

  Untitled Exhibition, South Asian Paintings, Gallery 4 (May 5, 1933 to January 9, 1945)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Rai Bahadur Radha Krishna (died 1931)

  Hagop Kevorkian (1872-1962)

• Origin

  Madhya Pradesh state, India

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Freer Gallery 02: Body Image: Arts of the Indian Subcontinent

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 0s

• Name

  buddha, Bahadur, Radha Krishna, Kevorkian, Hagop

• Place

  Madhya Pradesh state, India

• Topic

  Circumambulation, South Asian and Himalayan Art, Worship, Art, Dharmacakra, Shunga dynasty (ca. 185 to 75 BCE), Stone, Stupa

• Culture

  Buddhists, Himalayan peoples, South Asians, Apsarases

• Object Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Yes