Stupa with Five Spires, on a Jewelled Base
Gandhāran style · 18.0K gold
A miniature stupa in six parts: a jewelled square base, a domed body with a seven-tiered spire, and four smaller spires for the corners.
- Form
- Miniature stupa in six parts: base, dome and five spires
- Gold
- 18.0 karat — 75.1% gold by XRF
- Stones
- Base set with red and blue-green cabochon stones
- Weight
- 56 g including stones
- Dimensions
- Base 5.9 × 5.8 cm (2 ⅜ × 2 ¼ in.); central spire 7.8 × 3.2 cm (3 ⅛ × 1 ¼ in.); corner spires 4.2 × 1.1 cm (1 ⅝ × ⅜ in.)
- Style
- Gandhāran style; made now
- Reference
- CG-04
$7,400
In stock. Price includes packing; insured shipping is quoted at cost once we know where it is going. This piece is priced by weight against the gold price. To buy it, or to ask anything first, write to us — we reply the same day and send an invoice you can pay by card or transfer.
Enquire about this pieceThe stupa — a solid dome raised on a platform and crowned by a stack of ceremonial parasols — is the defining monument of Buddhist architecture, and in Gandhāra it was reproduced at every scale down to the portable. This model follows the pattern closely: the dome chased with a zigzag band and beaded borders, the central spire rising in seven granulated discs.
The square base has a circular opening on top to take the dome and a socket at each corner for the lesser spires. Its sides are set with red and blue-green cabochons, and one face carries the svastika, the ancient Indian sign of good fortune, in the sense in which Buddhist art has always used it.
The spires are separate pieces, so it packs flat for travel. At 56 grams it is the heaviest piece we hold, and it is priced by weight.