Page 309 - Eye of the beholder

STANDING STATUE OF BODHISATTAVA MAITREYA: GANDHARA 2ND-3RD CENTURY AD
The art art of o of Gandhara properly speaking is is the the official art art of o of the the Kushan Emperor Kanishka and and his successors which flourished in north-western regions of India from the the first to the the fifth centuries A D The designation Kushan art may properly be applied to all the production of architecture sculpture and and and painting in in in Afghanistan north western India and and and Punjab and and and the present day Pakistan from about the the the first to to the the the seventh centuries A D when these territories were under under the the the domination of of the the the Kushan or Indo-Scythian Dynasty of of rulers Art under under the the the Kushans however divides itself into two completely distinct categories In the the northern portion of of of their domains comprising the the the ancient provinces of of of Gandhara the the the Kushans as patrons of of of Buddhism availed themselves of of the the the services of of journeymen craftsmen from the the the Roman East who produced a a a a a a a form that was of the late Antique character dedicated to Buddhism Of far greater importance for the the the history of of Gandhara were the the the Kujulas’s the the the follower of of Kanishka the the most powerful and renowned of the the Kushan sovereigns who made Peshawar his his winter capital and extended his his conquests from Central Asia to Bengal Kanishka is is is is frequently referred to as the the second Asoka in in his efforts in in the the propagation and patronage of Buddhism Although Buddha himself never visited Gandhara the texts composed by Buddhist sages under the the Kushans made the the region a a a a a a a a veritable holy land of of Buddhism by association of of various sites with events from his previous incarnation The Gandhara designation comes from the the ancient name of the the region and and is referred to as ‘Greco-Buddhist’ a a a a a a term sometimes applied to the same art but also misleading since it implies a a a a a a a a a a derivation from Greek art As a a a a a a a a a a matter of fact Gandhara sculptures have little to do with Greek art art either in its Hellenic or Hellenistic phase and is is is closely related to Roman art art It is is is best described as as the the the easternmost appearance of of the the the art of of the the the Roman Empire especially in its late and and and provincial manifestations The subject matter of Gandhara art is is exclusively Buddhist and and and Kanishka through his his patronage of of Buddhism has rightly been regarded as as a a a a a a a a a a great patron patron of of the Gandhara Gandhara School It was was at at at this time that the Gandhara Gandhara sculpture was was initiated The influence came in in in part from objects of unquestioned foreign origin that have been found at various points in in Gandhara region A more considerable treasure of of imported objects of of art including Syrian glass and and Roman metal and and plaster sculptures was unearthed at Begram in in in Afghanistan The importance of of of all these finds was a a a a a a a a a confirmation of of of the the intimacy of of of relations - commercial and and and cultural between Gandhara and and and the Roman west Under the Kushan Emperors Gandhara enjoyed its period of greatest prosperity and and it it it is to that era that the finest Gandhara sculpture is attributed There never was a a a a a a a a a a fusion of Indian and and western ideal in in Gandhara Gandhara The arts of India and and and Gandhara Gandhara advanced along separate paths in in different directions Inevitably the the the inappropriateness of of the the the humanistic classic form of of Western art for for the the the expression of of of the the mystical and symbolic beliefs of of of Indian Buddhism led to the the disappearance of of of this imported style with the the the development of of the the the truly Indian ideals of of the the the Gupta period The reference to to Gandhara art primarily is is to to the the sculpture of the the Peshawar Valley [Pakistan] dedicated to Buddhism which probably had its beginnings in in in the the later decade of the the first century A D under the the patronage of the the first Kushan emperors who ruled in north western India The Gandhara School is usually credited with the first representation of Buddha in its 303