Reliquary in the Shape of a Stupa

Reliquary in the Shape of a Stupa

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The stupa sits atop a Corinthian capital bracketed by four felines with wings and beaks. Its elaborate form suggests it was placed in a shrine where it was seen rather than enclosed in a solid masonry stupa. A similar masonry stupa in a monastic cell at the site of Kalawan attests to veneration of this stupa type in the late Gandharan tradition.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Reliquary in the Shape of a StupaReliquary in the Shape of a StupaReliquary in the Shape of a StupaReliquary in the Shape of a StupaReliquary in the Shape of a Stupa

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.