Bharhut Sculptures and Bharhut Stupa

Bharhut (Hindi: भरहुत), is a location in Satna district in Madhya Pradesh, Central India, known for famous relics from a Buddhist stupa.  The Bharhut sculptures represent some of the earliest examples of Indian and Buddhist art.

The Bharhut stupa may have been established by the Maurya King Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE, but many works of art were apparently added during the Sunga period, with many friezes from the 2nd century BCE. An epigraph on the gateway mention its erection "during the supremacy of the Sungas by Vatsiputra Dhanabhuti.

The ruined stupa is still at Bharhut, however the gateways and railings were dismantled and reassembled at Kolkata Museum. They contains numerous birth stories of the Buddha's  previous lives, or Jataka  tales. Many of them are in the shape of large, round medallions. Two of the panels are at the Smithsonian.

In confirmity with the early aniconic phase of Buddhist art, the Buddha is only represented through symbols, such as the Dharma wheel, the Bodhi tree, an empty seat, footprints, or the triratana symbol.

The style represents the earliest phase of Indian art. and all characters are depicted wearing the Indian dhoti, except for one foreigner, thought to be an Indo-Greek soldier, with Buddhist symbolism. The Bharhut carvings are slightly earlier than the Sanchi carvings and the earlier Ajanta frescoes.

An unusual feature of Bharhut panels is inclusion of text in the narrative panels, often identifying the individuals.

Alexander Cunningham visited Bharhut in 1873 and excavated the site in 1874. His assistant J. D. Beglar continued the excavation in 1874, and also took many photographs.

The complex at Bharhut included a medieval temple, containing a containing a colossal figure of Buddha, along with fragment of sculptures showing Buddha with images of Brahma, Indra etc. Beglar also photographed a 10th-century Buddhist Sanskrit inscription, about which now nothing is known. All the archaeological objects from the stupa have been moved to Calcutta's Indian Museum. No antiquities exist at Bharhut now.

The above text courtesy on Bharhut Sculptures and Bharhut Stupa from the website of wikipedia.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharhut

These are some other sources about Bharhut Sculptures and Bharhut Stupta.

http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Bharhut.pdf

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/64048/Bharhut-sculpture

In my collection i have some Bharhut Sculptures and Bharhut Stupa postcards.

This is Part of Railing of Stupa from Bharhut postcard.

This is Bharhut - The Dream of Maya postcard.

This is Bharhut - Presentation of Jetavana Monastery postcard.

This is Bharhut - Mahakapi-Jataka postcard.

This is Bharhut - Chhadamtiya-Jataka postcard.

This is Bharhut Goddess Sirima and Yakshi Sudasana Statues postcard.