Page 6 - 2021 March 17th, Indian and Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art, Christie's New York City

DEVOTION IN STONE, PART TWO

Gandharan Masterpieces from a Private Japanese Collection

The ancient region of Gandhara was centered on the In 327 BCE, the Macedonian king Alexander the Great
agricultural plains of the Peshawar basin in modern-day (r. 336-323 BCE) conquered the regions of Bactria,
northwest Pakistan. The region extended to the mountain Gandhara, and the Swat Valley. Along the way through
range of the Hindu Kush to the west, the high foothills of his conquest, Alexander founded four cities to guard his
the Himalayas to the north, the Indus River to the east, and route, which marked the stages of his conquest: one at
the arid plains surrounding modern-day Peshawar to the Herat, another near Farah, one in Kandahar, and at Parvani
south. North of this was the ancient region of Udayana, near Begram. The effects of this extraordinary expedition
with the Swat Valley at its core, and to the west across marks one of the most important stages in the grafting
the Hindu Kush was the ancient region of Nagarahara of Hellenism into the heart of Asia, creating a multi-
(present-day Afghanistan), with Bactria to its northwest. cultural lexicon and the birth of the Gandharan style. After
These areas together formed the Gandhara region and is Alexander’s death, these areas came under the control of his
known for having produced some of the greatest examples generals and were broadly divided, with the regions to the
of Buddhist art. north of the Hindu Kush remaining under Seleucid Greek
rule, while more southerly provinces were reclaimed by the
Owing to its strategic location along the Silk Road trade
Mauryan dynasty of India. Between the 4th century BCE
routes linking China, South Asia, and the Mediterranean,
and 7th century CE, Gandhara was controlled successively
the region was a prime military and commercial hub with
by the Greeks, Indo-Greeks, Shakas, Parthians, Scythians,
great wealth that attracted waves of foreign invaders
Kushans, Sasanians, Huns, and other political entities,
over the centuries. However, geographical circumstances
who introduced diverse religious traditions and artistic
alone cannot explain the manifold influences that favored
conventions.
and gave such a hybrid character to the art of this region.
Historical and religious factors have played a key role and A precise date for the beginning of Gandharan art is
of these, three great events had the most important and hard to pinpoint. However, from the earliest remains from
lasting effect: the expedition of Alexander the Great (329 Gandhara that have survived, comprising of mostly luxury
to 325 BCE) bringing the seeds of Hellenism; the nomadic goods found in the urban centers of Sirkap, one can safely
invasions followed by the founding of the powerful Kushan assume the beginning to have been between the 2nd
Dynasty towards the end of the 1st century CE, and the century BCE – 1st century CE. While a few Buddhist sites
Buddhist expansion with its potent artistic inspiration. from the region may be dated to the 2nd century BCE, the
earliest Gandharan art associated with Buddhism dates to
no earlier than the 1st century CE, when reliefs embellishing
Buddhist architecture first began to appear. One is able to
piece together a larger picture of the Gandharan style and
its history from a vast number of archaeological remains
that have been excavated from this region, from various
early religious texts and ancient inscriptions mentioning
Gandhara, as well as from the accounts of Chinese pilgrims.
Stylistically the sculptures and relief panels that have come
down to us from this greater Gandhara region can be
divided into that coming from Gandhara proper, the Swat
Valley, and Afghanistan. The art of this region exhibits
a compelling fusion of foreign styles that exemplifies
the Buddhist religious ideals in northwest Pakistan and
Afghanistan. While these sites may be dated based on the
coins that were excavated from the sites, the chronology of
the sculptures and their development is debatable.

By the 1st century CE, the Kushans had taken control of
most of North India, Gandhara proper, and the ancient

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