Kanishka casket

E933571

The Kanishka casket is an ancient Buddhist reliquary from the Kushan period, renowned for its intricate depictions of the Buddha and deities and its association with the reign of Emperor Kanishka I.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Kanishka casket canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Buddhist reliquary
Kushan-period object
archaeological artifact
artisticTradition Greco-Buddhist art
associatedWith Kanishka I
Kushan Empire
country Pakistan
countryOfDiscovery Pakistan
culturalContext Kushan Empire in Gandhara
linked to: Kushan Empire
currentLocation Peshawar Museum
date 2nd century CE
depicts Bodhisattvas
Buddha
deities
discoveredAt Shah-ji-ki-Dheri
linked to: Shaikhan Dheri
discoveredNear Peshawar
discoveryDate 1908
excavatedBy David Brainard Spooner
function container for Buddha’s relics
hasPart base
cylindrical body
lid
heritageStatus important Buddhist relic of Gandhara region
iconography Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
linked to: Avalokiteśvara

Bodhisattva Maitreya
linked to: Maitreya

flying deities
garlands and floral motifs
standing Buddha
inscription dedicatory inscription naming Kanishka
inscriptionLanguage Kharosthi
material carnelian
gilded copper
gold
lapis lazuli
silver
turquoise
period Kushan period
linked to: Kushan Empire
religion Buddhism
shape cylindrical
significance evidence for early Mahayana Buddhist devotion
evidence for royal patronage of Buddhism under Kanishka I
style Gandharan art
technique gilding
repoussé
use reliquary for Buddhist relics
writingSystem Kharosthi script

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Kanishka I knownFor Kanishka casket