A fragmented panel representing the scene of the conversion of Sundarananda or Nandi: it tells the story of how the brother in law of Lord Buddha, Nanda, is following the Buddha on a begging round at Kapilavastu while back home his fiancée Sundari is preparing herself for the marriage in the palace, assisted by her female servants. In the end Nanda will not return to the palace and will accept to be ordained.
We recognize the scene at some very typical elements: the trapezoidal roof with sawtooth cornice, the laurel wreaths hanging against the wall, and the composition of the three women. Also the lion-headed corbels on the column at the right of the frieze, and the watching lady in the corner above the sawtooth roof are features that appear on similar Gandhara conversion of Nanda-scenes.
Although the left part of the scene is missing, and there is an all-over erosion of the surface, it still is an interesting narrative frieze. Remark the repair on the top left corner. The back is roughly worked with shallow chisel grooves.
Gandhara, 3rd-4rth century. Grey schist stone. Length 29 cm, height 17 cm, mounted 21,5 cm.
Reference: W.Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, London 1996, plate 205.
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