41 E. C. Bay ley — Sculptures discovered at Barahut. [Feb . 



The following gentlemen have intimated their desire to withdraw from 

 the Society. — 



Col. O. Hamilton. 

 W. Heilgers, Esq. 

 S. C. Bayley, Esq. 



Mr. Bayley laid before the Society a series of 36 photographs from the 

 Sculptures discovered by General Cunningham at Barahut. These by no 

 means represented the whole of the sculptures— but were specimens only of a 

 few of the most interesting. The sculptures themselves were now, he hoped, 

 on their way to Calcutta, as they had been liberally presented to the British 

 Government by the Rajah of Nagode and his kinsman the Thakur of the 

 place in which they were discovered. 



There had already been notices of the general character of these sculp- 

 tures ; and descriptions of some of them, from General Cunningham's own pen, 

 were before the Society. The sculptures were part of the decorations of 

 an ancient " Stupa" and its appendages, and until General Cunningham 

 commenced his researches had been practically lost. In fact the only trace of 

 them was an inscription on one pillar which, mentioned by Col. R. Ellis, had 

 drawn the attention of General Cunningham to the spot — on re-discovering 

 the place he visited it, and seeing prospects of success in digging proceed- 

 ed to disentomb these sculptures which were entirely covered with 

 earth. 



The value of the resulting discovery had been gladly acknowledged by 

 men of the highest learning in Europe, as might be seen by the Numbers of 

 the Academy which he had before him, and which were accessible to the 

 members of the Society. 



The present collection included certain representations of various occa- 

 sions in the life of Buddha or belonging to the stages of his existence anterior 

 to his last appearance as Sakya Muni — particularly there was a curious re- 

 presentation of the purchase of the ground for the Jelavana monastery ; there 

 were certain figures of Nagas and Yakshis, male and female, connected with 

 Buddha's history, and sundry other sculptures, particularly a series of 

 " bodhis" or sacred trees — from which it would appear that various kinds 

 of trees were sacred to the various Buddist saints. 



Professor Minayeff of St. Petersburgh, whom he would take the liberty 

 of introducing to the Society, would explain to them that this was in exact 

 accordance with the statements of an ancient Buddist MS. purchased by him 

 in Ceylon and that the attribution of each tree in the sculptures agreed with 

 the enumeration given in the MS. in question. 



The following papers were read : — 



