PYU GOLD BUDDHA, ELEPHANT & MONKEY SIGNET RING
$4,620.00Price
•Exquisite Solid Gold Signet Ring
•Unique motif of Sitting Buddha on a stylized lotus throne, featuring the Jataka* of Vaisali
•Buddha is attended to by an Elephant & a Monkey, each holding a honeycomb or a wreath of flowers**
•Strong deep excavated gold colour, “earthy” patina
•Size of ring: Asia 17/ Europe 52/ US 5.5
•Origin: Burma, Pyu Kingdom, VIIth/ IXth century
Details
* Jataka Tale
The wisdom and charity of the Buddha is said to have come from the consciousness he had of his previous lives; he remembered all his past existences, extending back millions of years, from when he was an animal, then a simple human to an enlightened being. The personal history of the Buddha accounts for 547 of these previous births that he is said to have narrated to his disciples. They became known as Jatakas, or birth stories. In Southeast Asia, the final ten Jatakas (of which The Miracle of Vaisali) are so popular as to occupy a special position among all others.
(cf. Vittorio Roveda & Sothon Yem’s “Preah Bot”,p. 43)
**The Miracle of Parilyyaka Forest (The Miracle of Vaisali)
The Buddha went on retreat to the Parilyyaka Forest, part of the hermitage of Vaisali, near Kosambi, where he was attended to by an elephant and a monkey. Because of their devotion, assistance and veneration to the Buddha, they gained almost immediate rebirth from the unfortunate condition of being animals incapable of discerning good from evil.
(cf. Vittorio Roveda & Sothon Yem’s “Preah Bot”,p. 78)