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Socle for a Dharmachakrastambha (Wheel of the Law) Pillar with Squatting Lion-Headed Figures
Not on view
This socle served as part of a dharmachakrastambha ensemble, a spoked wheel surmounting a tall pillar with a rectangular foot. It is carved with animated renderings of a squatting lion-headed figure flanked by floral vine tendrils, repeated on each elevation. The depiction of a lion-headed human was likely intended to evoke the “lion’s roar” of the Buddha’s First Sermon at Sarnath, an allusion to the popular Buddha epithet Sakyasinha, “lion of the Sakya clan.” The vegetal decoration is characteristic of architectural temple remains from Nakhon Pathom and is a distinguishing motif of that school.
cat. no. 125
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