The Birth of the Buddha Shakyamuni in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2011

Birth of the Buddha Shakyamuni


Period: Kushan period

Date: ca. 2nd century

Culture: Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara)

Medium: Stone

Dimensions: H. 6 15/16 in. (16 cm); W. 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm)

Classification: Sculpture

Credit Line: Gift of The Kronos Collections, 1987

Accession Number: 1987.417.1

Description: This panel, together with the one showing Maya's dream (1976.402), was part of a larger set that would have sequentially encircled the drum of a small stupa to recount the life of the Buddha. Here, Maya reaches up to grasp a branch of a tree, much like earlier representations of yakshis (female nature deities), and miraculously gives birth to the Buddha out of her right side.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/40598