【Collection of Zhejiang Provincial Museum】 Gilt Silver Stupa of King Ashoka from the Wuyue Kingdom of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Each part of the stupa, the base, the body, the mountain banana leaves, and the spire, is meticulously crafted and assembled. The square-shaped stupa base has a bottom plate with door-shaped decorations alternating with small Buddha statues on each side. The square-shaped stupa body is carved with Buddhist stories on all four sides, each depicting a different story, such as Prince Saduo sacrificing himself to feed the tiger, King Shibi cutting his flesh to trade for a pigeon, King Kuaimu giving away his eyes, and King Yueguang offering his head. The exterior is gilded, with a large golden-winged bird on each of the four corners. The top layer of the stupa body is decorated with honeysuckle and animal face patterns. Inside the hollow part of the stupa body, a gold container (gold coffin) is visible, which is supposed to contain the "Buddha's hair." However, since the stupa body has not been opened, the form, size, and internal conditions of the gold coffin are unknown. The front side of the four-cornered mountain banana leaves reflects sixteen scenes of the Buddha's life, such as being born under the Bodhi tree, practicing asceticism by the Niranjana River, and preaching in Sarnath. The back side depicts images of the Buddha meditating and preaching. The stupa spire consists of the spire shaft, the five-tiered wheel of dharma, the flame pearl and the treasure bottle on the top, etc. The base of the stupa spire is decorated with twelve overlapping lotus flowers and the five-tiered wheel of dharma is decorated with honeysuckle and pearl patterns, with the bottom wheel being the largest and gradually tapering upwards.