Name: 犍陀罗圣物匣项链/ Gandhara Agate Reliquary Necklace
SKU: 2041
Price: 4980.00 USD
Availability: InStock

圣物匣项链。项链上镶嵌的玛瑙圣物匣来自犍陀罗，约公元前300年-公元100年。犍陀罗国，是公元前6世纪已经存在的南亚次大陆国家，为列国时代十六大国之一。犍陀罗国的核心区域包括今巴基斯坦东北部和阿富汗东部，是印度文明、波斯文明、希腊文明的融合之地，而它的中心——塔克西拉，更是世界上最早的大学城，是宗教、哲学、艺术和高等教育的圣地。这件圣物匣的原型是比丘身上随身盛放舍利、项链、经文、圣符的小匣子。在犍陀罗佛造像上，经常可见这种小匣子斜挎在佛菩萨身上。这件圣物匣玛瑙工痕犀利，见棱见角，造型独特少有，是一件极其珍贵，小中见大的珍品。

This extraordinary necklace features an authentic agate reliquary from the Gandhara region, dating from approximately 300 BCE to 100 CE. Gandhara, one of the sixteen great nations of the ancient Indian subcontinent, flourished as a vital crossroads where Indian, Persian, and Hellenistic civilizations converged. Its heart, Taxila, was home to one of the world’s earliest university cities—a sacred sanctuary for religion, philosophy, art, and higher education.

The prototype of this piece is a “Reliquary” (or Kavacha), a small portable container traditionally worn by monks to carry sacred sarira (relics), scriptures, or holy talismans. In Gandharan Buddhist iconography, such containers are frequently depicted draped diagonally across the torsos of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

Crafted from rare agate, this reliquary exhibits the sharp, precise tool marks and distinct angularity characteristic of the period’s masterful lapidary work. Its unique and rare form makes it an incredibly precious artifact—a small-scale masterpiece that embodies the vast spiritual and artistic grandeur of ancient Gandhara.