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 long-nobed
ears and loose monastic robes similar to a
Roman toga. The extraordinary artistic creations
of Gandhara reveal a 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. Some of the original
pigment that once decorated this work is still
visible, specifically along his eyebrows. 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.6208)
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