India, Madhya Pradesh, Bharhut, Shunga period / c. 150 BCE
Section of a Coping Rail
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Section of a Coping Rail as sculpture (India, Madhya Pradesh, Bharhut, Shunga period · c. 150 BCE).
Known for having excellent vertical climbing abilities, the Indian monitor lizard (godha) is prized for its skin and meat.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this sculpture as sandstone.
The museum's collection notes: A coping rail is the top portion of a fence that connects the upright posts. Here, an undulating lotus rhizome blossoms with jewelry, and in the spaces between are scenes from two of the Buddha's past lives. At the left, a man catches and kills a lizard to eat it, and then lies about its running off ( Godha Jataka ); at the right an ascetic performs a Vedic fire sacrifice (possibly the Rajovada Jataka ).
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtSection of a Coping RailOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.