The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 11, 2026

A fragmented tan limestone slab is carved in relief with a weathered scene. On our left, a figure with a rounded head protrusion stands beside a stylized tree with a perched bird. To our right, a lion with an open mouth reclines on a platform, a small figure kneeling near its face. Stacked rectangular forms occupy the background. The stone is heavily pitted throughout, and the slab is broken along the left edge.

Buddha's Previous Life as a Woodpecker: Javasakunda Jataka

c. 175–225 CE

Southern India, Andhra Pradesh, possibly Amaravati, Satavahana period

(100s BC-AD 200s)
limestone
Overall: 30.7 x 54.2 x 9.6 cm (12 1/16 x 21 5/16 x 3 3/4 in.)
Gift of George P. Bickford 1970.350
Location: Not on view

Description

Scenes from the past lives of the Buddha were among the major themes found on early Buddhist monuments. This one exemplifies his acts of kindness and his intelligence in one of his past lives when he was a born as a woodpecker and helped dislodge a bone from a lion's throat.
  • at least by 1942–?
    C. T. Loo, New York, NY
    ?–1970
    George and Clara Louise Gehring Bickford [1903-1985], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1970–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Pope, John. An Exhibition of the Sculpture of Greater India, A Fully Illustrated Catalogue. New York: C.T. Loo & Co, 1942. Mentioned: cat. no. 16, pp. 31–32;
    Lee, Sherman E. Buddhist Art. Detroit Institute of Arts, Twenty-Fourth Loan Exhibition, October, 1942. Detroit: Detroit Institute of Arts, 1942. Mentioned: cat. no. 6, p. 21; Reproduced: cat. no. 6, p. 41
    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.
    Stone, Elizabeth Rosen. The Buddhist Art of Nāgārjunakoṇḍa. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1994. Mentioned and Reproduced: fig. 256
  • Year in Review: 1970. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 10-March 7, 1971).
    Buddhist Art. Detroit Institute of Arts, Twenty-Fourth Loan Exhibition, October, 1942. Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (October 1942).
    The Sculpture of Greater India. C.T. Loo & Co., New York, NY (1942).
  • {{cite web|title=Buddha's Previous Life as a Woodpecker: Javasakunda Jataka|url=false|author=|year=c. 175–225 CE|access-date=11 September 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1970.350