Introduction to the Birth of the Buddha and Queen Maya

Birth of the Buddha, 2nd century CE, stone, from ancient Gandhara (modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan). National Museum of Asian Art in Washington D.C.

How was the birth of the Buddha shown in art?

One of our ABCs of Art History videos examines a stone relief from ancient Gandhara (modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan) dated to the 2nd century CE that once decorated a Buddhist stupa. The relief depicts the miraculous birth of the historical Buddha, Buddha Shakyamuni, to his mother, Queen Maya, in the Lumbini grove. Today, this relief is in the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington D.C.