A MASSIVE INDIAN CARVED BLACK STONE VOTIVE STUPA WITH FOUR BUDDHAS, PALA PERIODIndia, 10th-11th century. The stupa of bell-shaped form with a three-tiered square base. Buddha is repeated in various mudras within four foliate niches above four smaller, arched niches at the base, all referencing moments from his life.Provenance: Brook Street Gallery, Mayfair, London, 1970s. British private collection, acquired from the above and thence by descent within the same family to the present owner.Condition: Condition commensurate with age, extensive wear, natural weathering, bruises and losses.Weight: 15.5 kgDimensions: Height 34.5 cmSmall stupas such as this example were placed near massive stupas containing the ashes of the Buddha. By this time, the connection between the historic Buddha Shakyamuni, who revealed the Buddhist teachings on earth, and the Buddha Vairocana, who resides in heaven, was known from texts and accepted in religious practice. The dome of the stupa simultaneously represents Shakyamuni's relics and Vairocana's celestial presence. The four directional Buddhas look out of foliate niches. These small stupas held the ashes of the monastic dead, allowing deceased monks to be eternally in the presence of the Buddha Shakyamuni and perhaps even aided in their being reborn in one of the pure lands.Literature comparison: A closely related but smaller stupa, missing the tiered base, is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 20.70, exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in “Cosmic Buddhas in the Himalayas” from 24 June to 10 December 2017.Auction result comparison: Compare with a related but slightly larger stupa at Bonhams New York in Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art on 14 September 2015, sold for USD 20,000, and another at Christie's New York in Indian and Southeast Asian Art on 18 September 2013, lot 241, sold for USD 16,250.