The Buddhapad Hoard or ''Buddam Hoard'' is a large cache of

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 ...

and

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

sculptures found near the town of Buddam in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, southern India. Since 1905, it has formed an important 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 South Asian collection. Dating from 6th-8th centuries AD, the style of craftsmanship fuses the northern influences of the

Gupta period The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gold ...

with the southern traditions of the

Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...

, which in turn greatly influenced Buddhist art in South East Asia in subsequent centuries.

Discovery and original ownership

The hoard was discovered in about 1870 by workers digging a canal,British Museum
"Buddam" and was described by the colonial historian Robert Sewell in 1895. The artefacts was subsequently donated by the

Secretary of State for India His (or Her) Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for India, known for short as the India Secretary or the Indian Secretary, was the British Cabinet minister and the political head of the India Office responsible for the governance of th ...

to the

in 1905. Given the religious nature of the sculptures, the cache may have originally formed part of a ritual deposit from a Buddhist temple or

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

Description

The 6th-8th century hoard is composed of fifteen bronze

and

images, the vast majority of which are either statuettes or parts of small figures. There are three relatively intact standing statuettes of the Buddha (the largest of which is 38 cm high), 4 bronze arms, two bases for standing figures (one of which has a

Brahmi Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' ...

inscription), two small Buddha heads, and a bronze model of a stupa. Jain figures are a shrine with a

tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a ' ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the '' dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable pass ...

, and two fragmentary figures of

Parsvanatha ''Parshvanatha'' (), also known as ''Parshva'' () and ''Parasnath'', was the 23rd of 24 ''Tirthankaras'' (supreme preacher of dharma) of Jainism. He is the only Tirthankara who gained the title of ''Kalīkālkalpataru ( Kalpavriksha in this "Ka ...

. The Buddhist context of some of the smaller body fragments is probable rather than certain.

Gallery

File:Buddhapad Hoard (3) (BM).JPG, Model of a stupa from the hoard File:Buddhapad Hoard (2) (BM).JPG, Bronze statuette of the Buddha with

varadamudra Varadamudra is a mudra, and it indicates a gesture by the hand and symbolizes dispensing of boons. For varadamudra, the right hand is used. It is held out, with palm uppermost and the fingers pointing downwards. Varadamudra and abhayamudra are ...

gesture

Bibliography

*Zwalf W, Buddhism: Art and Faith, London, British Museum *Barrett D, Studies in Indian Sculpture and Painting, London *R. Fisher, Buddhist art and architecture (London, Thames & Hudson, 1993)

References

{{British Museum Asian objects in the British Museum Buddha statues in India Indian Buddhist sculpture Culture of Andhra Pradesh Buddhism in Andhra Pradesh Treasure troves in India