The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Black sculpture of a central, topless woman wearing a wrap and bands of alternating lines and circle patterned jewelry. She reaches up to grasp a tree branch with her right hand while her other hand extends down to a figure less than half her size. On the other side, a slightly larger figure holds another figure about half their size within the palms of their hands. Sanskrit inscriptions adorn the background (see "Inscription" field).

Birth of the Buddha

800s

Northeastern India, Bengal, Pala dynasty

(730-1197)
Black chlorite
Overall: 46.4 x 27.3 x 11.4 cm (18 1/4 x 10 3/4 x 4 1/2 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1959.349
Location: Not on view

Description

The historical Buddha known as Shakyamuni was born Prince Siddhartha around the end of the 400s BCE near the border of what is today India and Nepal. His mother, Queen Maya, was traveling from her husband’s capital to her family home to give birth, but the baby came early and was born in a grove of shala trees.

The miraculous circumstances of his birth are related in a number of textual sources. They state that he emerged from her right side, so Queen Maya here is shown grasping the branch of a tree with her right hand raised, like a nature divinity. The baby was received by Indra, king of the gods, and immediately he took seven steps. The figure at the lower right is Brahma, the Hindu god of creation. In works of Buddhist art, Hindu gods appear as subservient or inferior to the Buddha.

The Sanskrit inscription records a common Buddhist prayer of this period:

Phenomena arise from causes;
The causes have been revealed by the Buddha,
As have the means for their cessation;
Thus has been declared by the Great Ascetic.
  • ?–1959
    (Heeramaneck Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1959–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Miniatures and Small Sculptures from India. University Gallery, April 10th thru May 29th, 1966. Gainesville: College of Architecture and Fine Arts, University of Florida, 1966. Mentioned and Reproduced: fig. 17
    Marcus, Margaret F. “Sculptures from Bihar and Bengal.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 54, no. 8, 1967, pp. 240–262. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 249, fig. 8 25152173
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Motherhood across Time. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2021. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 7
    Lutz, Gerhard, and Elina Gertsman. Creation and (Re)birth. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2024. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 3, fig. 2
  • Creation, Birth, and Rebirth. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 17, 2024-July 16, 2025).
    Sacred India. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5, 1985-January 12, 1986).
    Miniatures and Small Sculptures from India. University Galleries, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (organizer) (April 10-May 29, 1966).
    Year in Review - Nineteen Hundred Sixty. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 30, 1960-January 1, 1961).
  • {{cite web|title=Birth of the Buddha|url=false|author=|year=800s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1959.349