Buddha's Previous Life as a Woodpecker: Javasakunda Jataka
Unknown Artist
c. 175–225 CE
Medium
limestone
Dimensions
30.7 × 54.2 × 9.6 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of George P. Bickford
Accession Number
1970.350
About this artwork
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.