A Gate to the Stupa of Sanchi

Object Details

• Artist

  Yoshida Hiroshi 吉田博 (1876-1950)

• Label

  From Bombay, Yoshida traveled by automobile to Sanchi. The Buddhist monuments at Sanchi, including the Great Stupa and the gate shown in Yoshida's print, reached their present form with stone additions in the first century B.C.E. Although not directly connected with the life of the historical Buddha, the monuments of Sanchi constitute important evidence of early Buddhist architecture in India. In addition to the Great Stupa--a dome-shaped structure containing a relic chamber--there were additional smaller stupas, pillars, shrines, and monastic buildings. The site was excavated and restored under British direction during the late nineteenth century, after its rediscovery by a British military officer in 1818.

  In this print, Yoshida chose to depict one of the four carved stone gates located at the cardinal points of the wall surrounding the Great Stupa. A group of Indian visitors is seated on a mat in the foreground.

• Provenance

  To 1996

  Henry Edwin Robison (1913-2008), Palo Alto, CA, to 1996

  From 1996

  Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, given by Henry Edwin Robison in 1996

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Yoshida Hiroshi: Japanese Prints of India and Southeast Asia (August 1 to October 17, 1999)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Henry Edwin Robison (1913-2008)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of H. Ed Robison in memory of Katherine W. Robison

• Type

  Print

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1930s

• Name

  Robison, Henry Edwin

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Art, Showa era (1926 - 1989), Japanese Art, Gate, Stupa

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints