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The Kulu Vase is the name of an ancient Buddhist bronze goblet found in the foothills of the British Museum Highlights
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Image:Kulu Vase-BM-3.JPG, Detail of the Kulu Vase showing the chariot drawn by four horses
Image:Kulu Vase-BM-2.JPG, Detail of the Kulu Vase showing the royal dignitary flanked by two female attendants
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
during the mid-19th century. The importance of the vase lies in the fact that it is one of the oldest metal objects to be decorated in this fashion on the Indian Subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
. Since 1880, the vase has been part of the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
's Asian collection./ref>
Discovery
Although originally thought to come from Kulu, the vase was discovered in 1857 near theGandhola Monastery
Gandhola Monastery (Gaṅdolā, also called Gondla, Gondhla, Kundlah, or Guru Ghantal Gompa) is about before Keylong in Lahaul and Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh, India on the road from Manali, Himachal Pradesh. It is located on a hill abov ...
, about 18 km from Keylong
Kyelang (also spelled Keylong) is a town and the administrative centre of the Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, north of Manali via Atal Tunnel and from the Indo-Tibetan border. It is located along the Mana ...
in Lahaul, Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
. A landslip had exposed an ancient Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
cell which had been lying dormant for over 1,500 years. The vase was eventually acquired by Major Hay, the local political agent of the British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
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*
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or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
, who donated it to the India Museum in London. In 1880 the vase, like many other items in the India Museum, was transferred to the British Museum.
Description
The Kulu Vase is spherical in shape with a high neck and wide rim which is partly damaged. The frieze on the vase illustrates a courtly figure or monarch who heads a chariot procession. Bestriding a chariot pulled by four horses, he is closely followed by a line of cavalry and another royal personage riding an elephant. At the end of the procession two female musicians are playing a flute and harp. The neck of the vase is decorated with a range of different patterns including Chevron (insignia), chevrons and parallel lines. Without any inscriptions or local context to the find, it is difficult to determine the significance and meaning of the characters and ceremony portrayed on the vase.
Gallery
Further reading
*E A Knox, Enlightening the Kulu Vase: a tour through peninsular enlightenment iconography in the early Buddhist period *V Elisseeff (editor), The Silk Roads: Highways of Culture and CommerceReferences
{{British Museum Asian objects in the British Museum Archaeology of India Buddhist art