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HOME :
Asian Art :
Gandharan Artefacts : Gandharan Head of the Buddha
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Gandharan Head of the Buddha - PF.6222
Origin: Afghanistan/Pakistan
Circa: 100
AD
to 400
AD
Dimensions:
8.25" (21.0cm) high
Collection: Asian
Medium: Stucco
Additional Information: K, SOLD
Location: Great Britain
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| Description |
The ancient civilization of Gandhara
thrived
in the region encompassing modern
northeastern Afghanistan and
northwestern
Pakistan. Situated at a confluence of
trading
paths along the Silk Route, the area was
flooded in diverse cultural influences
ranging
from Greece to China. Gandhara
flourished
under the Kushan Dynasty and their great
king, Kanishka, who is traditionally
given
credit for spreading the philosophies of
Buddhism throughout central Asia and
into
China. This period is viewed as the
most
important era in the history of
Buddhism.
After the conquests of Alexander the
Great,
the creation of Greco-Bactrian kingdoms,
and the general Hellenization of the
subcontinent, Western aesthetics became
prominent. Greek influence began
permeating into Gandhara. Soon
sculptors
based the images of the Buddha on Greco-
Roman models, depicting Him as a stocky
and youthful Apollo, complete with
stretched
earlobes and loose monastic robes
similar to
a Roman toga. The extraordinary
artistic
creations of Gandhara reveal link
between
the different worlds of the East and
West.
The historical figure, Buddha Gautama
Sakyamuni is the Buddha of compassion
who, having achieved the highest
evolutionary perfection, turns suffering
into
happiness for all living beings. Born
around
560 B.C. somewhere between the hills of
south Nepal and the Rapti River, his
father
was a Raja who ruled over the
northeastern
province of India, the district
including the
holy Ganges River. The young prince was
married to Yashoda when he was about 17
years old and together they had a son
named Rahula. At the age of 29, he left
his
life of luxury, as he felt compelled to
purify
his body and make it an instrument of
the
mind by ridding himself of earthly
impulses
and temptations. This sculptural
fragment
depicts the bust of the Buddha. An
inner
calm and complacency is visible in his
sweet
smile. His ear droops down, pulled from
the
weight of heavy earrings he once wore in
his
aristocratic youth. His hair is
rendered in
curly waves and features a prominent
ushnisa, a symbol of his divine
wisdom. The artists of Gandhara were the
first to represent the Buddha in his
human
form, as opposed to a symbol. This
gorgeous head is a reminder of an
ancient
civilization that, although vanished,
helped
spread the teachings of enlightenment
throughout the heart of Asia.
- (PF.6222)
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