The Great Renunciation.
- Gallery: Room 33
- Culture: Kushan
- Made in: Gandhara (historic - Pakistan)
- Date: 2ndC-3rdC
- Object type: panel
- Materials: schist
- Museum number: 1900,0414.1
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
"Before you is 'The Great Renunciation,' a beautifully carved panel from the ancient Gandhara region, now part of Pakistan. Dating to the 2nd to 3rd century, this work is a vivid piece of Kushan-era Buddhist art.
You’ll notice the seated haloed Bodhisattva—symbolizing the Buddha—on a decorative bed, his right hand raised while his groom approaches with a turban. His wife sleeps on the bed, bare-chested and adorned with jewelry—bracelets, earrings, and a floral wreath. Around them, attendants and guards sleep or rest, each dressed in rich, flowing garments and intricate headdresses.
The carving captures a pivotal spiritual moment—Bodhisattva's final farewell to family life. This scene is drawn from traditional Buddhist stories, where the future Buddha prepares to abandon worldly pleasures.
Carved with precision in schist, the panel features a detailed bed and pilasters that reflect both Indian and Hellenistic artistic influences. Each figure is rendered with care, from sleeping guards to the flowing textures of fabric, creating a scene rich in both emotion and narrative."
See it in person
The Great Renunciation. is on display in Room 33 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and take a photo of it to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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