Country Group: South and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam)
This is a genuine 3rd century Buddhist Stupa carved out of a hard black stone. It was de-accesioned from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, and retains the museum numbers on the bottom. It is quite substantial at 8.5 inches tall by 4.25 inches wide and 4.25 inches deep. It weighs an impressive 10 pounds. It is in good shape, with loss to one corner, as can be seen in the photos. This is the main body of the stupa: originally it would have had a stone base which was hollowed out (the bottom of this piece is slightly hollowed out as well, and would have been the top of the relic chamber). Out of the hole on the top there would have risen a series of Buddhist umbrellas. Note the 2 small Buddhas on the front of the Stupa: Gandharan depictions of the Buddha are among the very first images of the Buddha. I believe that the flowers are meant to depict lotuses.
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