Stūpa drum panel with protective serpent, Amaravati stupa, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, Sātavāhana, second half of 1st century–early 2nd century CE, Limestone, 145×77.5×10 cm; Excavated by Walter Elliot, Commissioner of Guntur, 1845; transferred to Madras,1856; shipped to East India House, London, 1859; transferred to the India Museum, London; transferred to the British Museum, 1880; Collection: British Museum, London

Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India and Its Global Reach
Friday, Sept 29 (10:30am-6pm) and Saturday, Sept 30 (10:30-6pm)
The Met Fifth Avenue – The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium
Free with Museum admission, registration required

Join an international group of scholars this Friday and Saturday for a two-day symposium presenting new scholarship around the themes explored in the current exhibition Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200 BCE–400 CE. The keynote lecture is presented by Gregory Schopen, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Asian Languages and Cultures, University of California, Los Angeles.

Day 1: Friday, Sept. 29, 10:30am–6pm
Session 1: Origins of Buddhist Art in India
Session 2: Southern Buddhism of Āndhradeśa
Keynote lecture

Day 2: Saturday, Sept. 30, 10:30am–6pm
Session 3: Revisiting Āndhradeśa Art History
Session 4: India and the World—Looking West
Session 5: India and the World—Looking East
Roundtable discussion

You’re welcome to join for both days, or only the sessions that interest you.

Learn more and register here.