AMARAVATI STUPA:

Reconstruction of the Amaravati stupa,
c. 100 - 200 AD

     Unlike that at Sanchi, Fergusson describes, the stupa at Amaravati has been so completely destroyed that a traveler might ride over the mounds in which it is buried without suspecting what they covered. It lay in the territory of the Satavahana monarchs. Dehejia calls it one of the wonders of the Buddhist world in second century AD, where visual narrative reached unparalleled elegance. Only half its sculptures survived the haphazard digging of local landowners, treasure seekers, and amateur archaeologists, and are now distributed between museums of London, Madras, and Amaravati itself (69).

Railing Pillars, Amaravati Stupa c. 100 - 200 AD

Amaravati's images are quite distinct from those that appear in the north, where, as Dehejia says, the human image of Buddha was introduced; however, Amaravati's narratives "carry an added fascination in enabling us to view the actual transition in the portrayal of the Buddha from emblematic traces of his presence the anthropomorphic image" (70). The intricate decoration of every portion of the Amaravati rails and pillars are quite stunning. Crossbars that connected the Amaravati pillars are decorated with medallions which continue the narrative intent of the site, and coping does likewise (Dehejia, 73).

     The picture which the sculptures at Amaravati afford us of the religious faith of the inhabitants of India at the time they were erected is perhaps more novel, and also more interesting than the information they afford regarding the arts of the country. We learn so much of the current state and progression of the artists, religion, culture and people of the time simply by examining the stories of the stupa.

Crossbar Medallion, Amaravati stupa, c. 100 - 200 AD.
Limestone; h. c. 54 cm, 21 in.