The ancient civilization of Gandhara was located 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.This superb large standing bodhisattva is rendered in stucco with traces of the original polychromy. The left hand is raised in a gesture of blessing or reassurance. The right hand holds a slender object which may have been the stem of a lotus flower. The halo is tilted forward and frames the incredibly youthful and feminine face. The centrally parted ringlets are held in place by a headdress adorned with large stylised flowers. The facial features recall the influence of classical aesthetics on Gandharan craftsmen. The drapery falls over the figure’s left shoulder and crosses the lower body diagonally. The form of the knees is visible through the fabric. As on earlier examples in schist, the upper body is adorned with a wide torque and a diagonally draped string hung with amulets. The appeal of this piece lies above all in the grace of the posture and the serenity of the expression. - (AM.0394 )

Antiquities
Ancient Near East