This beautifully carved sculpture is a superb example of Indian art, complete with motifs, such as the deer and Dharma wheel, drawn from the Buddhist tradition.
The sculpture is designed to adorn a tympanum, which is the architectural name for the triangular space contained within a pediment, typically situated above the lintel of a doorway or as a decorative element to the line of a roof. Although of architectural function, the piece is also a wonderful example of Indian Buddhist sculpture and a work of art in its own right.
The sculpture portrays a Dharma wheel flanked by two deer, a composition regularly found in Indian, Nepalese, and Tibetan Buddhist architecture. The deer are a direct reference to the Buddha’s first teaching in the Deer Park, Sarnath, while the Dharma wheel is a common motif in Buddhist art.
The sculpture is wonderfully abstract in composition, with the deer in particularly demonstrating the aesthetic of the art of this time.