Buddha and Disciples, unknown maker from Gandhara

Artwork Overview

Buddha and Disciples
Buddha and Disciples
Buddha and Disciples
circa 200s CE, Kushan dynasty
Buddha and Disciples , circa 200s CE, Kushan dynasty
Where object was made: Gandhara (present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan)
Material/technique: schist
Dimensions:
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 26.8 x 29.5 x 6.5 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 10 9/16 x 11 5/8 x 2 9/16 in
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): with Plexigas mount 29.5 x 39.5 x 13 cm
Object Height/Width/Depth (Height x Width x Depth): 11 5/8 x 15 9/16 x 5 1/8 in
Weight (Weight): 20 lbs
Credit line: Museum purchase
Accession number: 1950.0017
Not on display
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Images

Label texts

Exhibition Label: “The Sacred and the Secular: Buddhist Imagery in Religious and Popular Contexts,” Oct-2005, Hillary Pedersen This relief section from a larger structure illustrates what very early Buddhist imagery looked like. Basic iconography, such as the simple monk's robe and the cranial protrusion on top of the head, has remained consistent throughout the centuries, and has also translated into different countries’ depictions of Buddhas. The style of this relief is Gandharan, which emphasizes realistic proportions, wavy hair, naturalistic drapery folds, features also seen in Western sculpture from early Rome or Greece.

Resources

Audio

Didactic – Art Minute
Didactic – Art Minute
Episode 16 Nov-2005, Alison Miller, Asian Art Intern I’m David Cateforis with another art minute from the Spencer Museum of Art. Currently on view in the museum’s Asian gallery are three stone sculptures that at first glance might look more at home amongst ancient Roman statuary. Yet, these images were produced by artists of the Kushan dynasty, which existed from the first to third centuries CE in the region of Gandhâra-present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and Kashmir. Gandhâran sculpture includes some of the first images of the Buddha in human form - often realistically proportioned figures draped in togas with curly topknots, facial hair, crisp features and smooth surfaces. Also typical of Gandhâran sculpture is gray schist, a hard, dark-colored stone. Gandhâra was positioned at a thriving crossroads of trade between Rome and Asia. Often compared to Roman statuary, Gandhâran sculpture fuses Indian and Central Asian imagery with Mediterranean styles introduced to the region by the expedition of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BCE. Works currently on view include a seated Buddha, the head of a bodhisattva, and a relief with multiple figures. With thanks to Alison Miller for her text, from the Spencer Museum of Art, I’m David Cateforis.