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103

Gandhara Grey Schist Relief Panel with Buddha, 2nd/3rd C.

Currency:EUR Category:Collectibles Start Price:2,400.00 EUR Estimated At:4,000.00 - 5,000.00 EUR
Gandhara Grey Schist Relief Panel with Buddha, 2nd/3rd C.
Grey schist
Kingdom of Gandhara, ancient region around present-day Peshawar, 2nd/3rd century
Buddha in the center flanked by two disciples
Below arches divided by columns
Width: 60 cm
Visually good condition
Provenance: Private collection, Germany
Deeply carved panel in high relief in the form of a colonnade

This relief panel was carved of grey schist and originates from the kingdom of Gandhara in the 2nd/3rd century. This ancient region was located in the Peshawar valley, between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In the middle of the panel a Buddha in meditation is rendered, who is flanked by two disciples. The figures are shown below arches and divided by columns to the sides. The panel is worked in a multistage relief and framed at the top by a frieze.



The Gandhara panel is in good condition for its age, with signs of wear consistent with age. Some loss of material and a restored breakpoint in the lower right corner can be seen. The width is 60 cm and the height measures 18.5 cm.



Kingdom of Gandhara

The kingdom of Gandhara lasted from the 6th Century BC to the 11th Century AD. In the sixth to fourth centuries BC Gandhara was dominated under the Achaemenid Dynasty of Iran. The successors of Alexander the Great maintained themselves in Bactria and Gandhara from 322 BC to about 50 BC. Rejoined to India under the Maurya Dynasty, the Gandhara province became the object of intense missionary activity by the Buddhist emperor Asoka (reigned c. 273-232 BC). In the first century AD the Kushans, a tribe of Scythian stock from north China made themselves masters of Gandhara. Their rule, however, was interrupted by the invasion of the Persian King Shapur I in AD 242, and the Buddhist civilization of Gandhara was finally completely destroyed in the sixth century. After being conquered by Mahmood of Ghazni in 1021 AD, the name Gandhara disappeared.



Gandhara is noted for the distinctive Gandhara style of Buddhist art, which developed out of a merger of Greek, Syrian, Persian, and Indian artistic influence. This development began during the Parthian Period (50 BC – AD 75). Gandharan style flourished and achieved its peak during the Kushan period, from the 1st to the 5th century. It declined and suffered destruction after invasion of the White Huns in the 5th century. Stucco as well as stone was widely used by sculptors in Gandhara for the decoration of monastic and cult buildings. Stucco provided the artist with a medium of great plasticity, enabling a high degree of expressiveness to be given to the sculpture.
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