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Item id: 10887

Early Buddha Stele Made of ancient glass-authentic, rare, strikingly beautiful. This is one of three related thick glass Buddhist Stele That are Unlike any other antique Early Buddhist items I have encountered. They each are an extremely thick Glass tablet with of variety of Buddhist figures and animals either carved or molded onto the surface. Some Figures might have begun with a mold, and then then carefully reworked and some may have been molded and others may have been Carved following a prototype. Each of the three has some of the same figures and a few different ones. They were all clearly done in the same workshop/location, And likely by the same hand. When a light is shined through them, the glass takes on and almost turquoise color. It is hard to tell How much the variation in thickness and patina (burial?) have affected the color, so it is difficult to tell whether they are the same or slightly different. The figures have a strong patina that shows decomposition in the glass. Some of the figures still have relatively clear features, others appear more worn, though I do not believe this is from use, but Breakdown of the glass overtime. I’ve shown the glass to an expert on old glass. (Who knew nothing about Buddhist art). He felt that the glass could be more than 1000 years old as the way the surface was deteriorating and sluffing Off in layers was the way that some ancient glass deteriorates overtime as it breaks down. On one of the pieces and entire layer completely fell away, in other places, it was more incremental. he also said that what looked like and crusted dirt was probably not dirt at all, but was actually the result of the breaking down of the glass into its initial components, which included sand. He said trying to remove that would just degrade the image and the overall sculpture and that if you removed it, there would be nothing remaining.

I am not exactly sure of the origin, but based on the style of the figures, The condition of the glass, the patina, And the overall look and feel of the three piecesI believe them to be over 1000 years old. I am always always always very suspicious of items like this, as when something comes along that is so exceptional and so different now everything else, and when there are no comparables, it almost always turns out to not be true. These however, are of such high-quality, and have such an incredible look and feel to them that I cannot dismiss the likelihood that they are what they appear to be.-Very rare Buddhist Stele or Tablets From Central Asia, or somewhere nearby, and likely from the first millennia.

I have reached out to the experts, I know, and have searched the Internet and other sources. I have access to and I am still searching. I received skepticism and great curiosity, but so far they remain a mystery. I don’t really want to sell them, but I’m committed to selling everything in my collection as I prepare for retirement as I near 70, plus my business is part of my Buddhist practice of right livelihood and I am working on attachment so I am striving to let go of the pieces I am attached to the most. it is very difficult to price these. I am posting them now, but I’m not planning to sell them until the next $$$$$ auction when I will let the market place determine their value.

If you have any information about these types of pieces, or anything related to them, please let me know. I will both include it in my description and will follow up on any leads. You may be able to provide me in my quest to learn more about them.

This one, while having lost a section of the surface on the mid right section which you can see in the photos as it shows as dark blue where the rest of the face of the tablet is a complexmixture of sand, brown, and blue, the figures on this one are in the best overall condition. More of them are clear and crisp and not degraded I could try and describe them, but the best thing to do is to spend time looking at the photos of the three different tablets and you will learn more than anything I could describe to you in words. Note the beautiful Rams flanking the central Buddha. They are superb!

The condition is remarkably good for a glass object that has been either buried or unprotected for such a long time. Look at the beautiful untouched patina on the backside. It helps to give a sense of all this piece has been through.

While I have been talking about all three of these, I am offering them separately. All three of them are on closely related Custom-hardwood stands.( 10.75"H x 7"W x 2.25"D ) - 7.55lbs / ( Base: 9"W x 1.5"H )