Kanishka casket

Kanishka casket
The "Kanishka casket", dated to 127 CE, with the Buddha surrounded by Indra and Brahma. Kanishka appears in the lower part among the scrolls, British Museum.[1]
Created	2nd century CE
Present location	British Museum, London
Kanishka stupa Kanishka stupa Show map of PakistanShow map of GandharaShow all

Detail of the Buddha, surrounded by cherubs, with devotee or bodhisattava

The Kanishka casket or Kanishka reliquary, is a Buddhist reliquary made in gilded copper, and dated to the first year of the reign of the Kushan emperor Kanishka, in 127 CE. It is now in the Peshawar Museum in the historic city of Peshawar, Pakistan.

History and description[]

It was discovered in a deposit chamber under the monumental Kanishka stupa (described by Chinese pilgrims in the 7th century as the tallest stupa in all India), during the archeological excavations in 1908-1909 in Shah-ji-Dheri on the outskirts of Peshawar. It is said to have contained three bone fragments of the Buddha,^[2] which were forwarded to Burma by the British following the excavation,^[3] where they still remain.

The casket is today at the Peshawar Museum, and a copy is in the British Museum. The casket is dedicated in Kharoshthi. The inscription reads: