Head of a Buddha at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

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The fifth and fourth centuries B.C. were a time of worldwide intellectual ferment. Great thinkers emerged during this period, including Socrates and Plato, Confucius and Laozi. In India, it was the age of Buddha, whose death led to the development of a religion that eventually spread far beyond its homeland. Siddhartha, the prince who would become the Buddha, was born into the royal family of Kapilavastu, a small kingdom in the Himalayan foothills. His birth was a divine conception and miraculous event, at which sages predicted he would become a universal conqueror, either of the physical world or of men's minds. It was the latter conquest that came to pass. Giving up palace pleasures to seek life's true purpose, Siddhartha first tried severe asceticism for six years, only to abandon it as a futile exercise. He then sat beneath a banyan tree in yogic meditation until achieving enlightenment. Henceforth known as the Buddha, or "Enlightened One," his path is the Middle Way, rejecting both luxury and asceticism. Buddhism proposes living a life of good thoughts, good intentions, and straight living, all with the ultimate aim of achieving nirvana, release from earthly existence. For most beings, nirvana lies in the distant future because Buddhism believes in a cycle of rebirth. Humans are born many times on earth, each time with the opportunity to perfect themselves further. Their karma - the sum total of deeds, good and bad - determines the circumstances of a future birth. The Buddha spent forty years preaching his faith and making vast numbers of converts. When he died, his body was cremated as customary in India. Cremated relics were divided into several portions and placed in relic caskets interred within large hemispherical mounds known as stupas. Stupas constitute the central monument of Buddhist monastic complexes, attracting pilgrims from far and wide who come to experience the unseen presence of the Buddha. Stupas are enclosed by a railing that provides a path for ritual circumambulation, entered through gateways at the four cardinal points. This object is part of "Scan The World", a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for public access. Scan The World is an open source community effort; interested individuals can email stw@myminifactory.com to contribute.