Kushan empire, 1st-3rd century AD. Finely worked, the tall flaring sides encircled by 843 (!) individually worked miniature Buddhas, including one row around the rim of the domed cover housing four larger Buddha figures, each in deep meditation seated in dhyanasana with hands lowered in dhyana mudra, alternating with neatly chased floral designs, and surmounted by a detachable three-tiered umbrella finial.

Provenance: Ex-Collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.
Condition: Good condition commensurate with age, with expected wear, small dents, expected traces of use, tiny nicks, tarnishing, some warping, and minor losses.
Alloy composition range: 85.61% silver, 9.09% copper, 4.14% iron, and 1.15% Zinc. The lot was tested by the Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum.

Weight: 221 g
Dimensions: Height 20.7 cm

The motif of a thousand Buddhas is common in Mahayana Buddhism, but evidently exceedingly rare in a Gandharan context. The Bhadrakalpika Sutra, also known as the ‘Sutra of the Fortunate Aeon’, is a Mahayana sutra which discusses the names and deeds of over a thousand Buddhas, of which most of them are said to arise in the future. The sutra dates to around 200-250 AD and its original text is now lost, however Gandhari and Sanskrit fragments have survived, for example in the Schoyen Collection, illustrated in Buddhist Manuscripts Volume IV, pls. XVIII-XXIV.

The stupa is probably the most popular monument in early Buddhism and takes its origin from the burial mound. The earliest examples were constructed to store Buddha's ashes and relics. In due course they were built to store the remains of Buddha's famous disciples or holy manuscripts.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related gold reliquary in the form of a stupa, 5 cm high, dated to the 1st century, in the British Museum, accession number 2004,0331.1. Compare a related copper alloy reliquary in the form of a stupa, 12.9 cm high, dated 2nd-3rd century, in the British Museum, accession number 1887,0717.23.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 22 March 2011, lot 376
Price: USD 25,000 or approx. EUR 33,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare silver stupa, Gandhara, 2nd/3rd century
Expert remark: Compare the related form with a similar tiered umbrella attached to the silver dome reliquary. Note the similar size (24.6 cm) and of course the fact that there are no Buddha statues present on this lot.

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