The Buddha sculptures of Gandhara School of Art had strong resemblance with the Apollo Belvedere. The ideal monk or Buddha images are depicted as Prince Charming. These sculptures were carved out in a realistic method. These sculptures feature exceptional physical details. Moustaches, declination of Muscles make these sculptures different from others. Here Buddha has Urna or hair between the eyes, the chakra or wheel, etc. Here Buddha features a stocky appearance and the hair is arranged in a schematic wave. The aura or prabhamandala around his head clearly signifies his divine presence. The Bodhisattvas represent temporal attributes quite alien to that of the spiritual domain of Buddha.
Both divinity and kingly attributes are attached to Buddha’s life. Despite the posture of Buddha being of absolutely Indian style the other features carried clear mark of Greek culture. The Buddhist sculptures in Gandhara are known to be the best examples of the Gandhara School of Art.
The land of Gandhara situated on the west bank of the Indus valley succumbed to the Pathians, Greeks and the Sakas around some two thousand years ago. The works of the early Gandhara School depict Lord Buddha in his bodily form. The present day form of Buddhist sculpture in which Buddha is usually seen is the form of the old Gandhara School of Art. The Gandhara School of Art can be traced back some two thousand years back.
The exceptional features of Hellenistic influence can be found in a very dramatic way in Gandhara. The term Gandhara is now used for depicting the school of semi-classical sculptures prevalent in Afghanistan and Pakistan. An ancient province is called Gandhara in classical times in ancient India. Actually, Gandhara is a part of the northwestern India, a place located in between the Indus River and the Khyber Pass that is presently in the Kabul Valley of Afghanistan.
The evidence of Gandhara School of Art can be found in the Oxus River region in Punjab. Gandhara was under the rule of the Achaemenid Dynasty of Iran from sixth to fourth century BCE.
Gandharan art is a representative of the Graeco-or-Roman-Buddhist school. It is said that Kanishka, the Kushan Emperor founded the School in 129-160 AD. His patronage to Buddhism saw great development of Buddhist sculptures in Gandhara. The commercial relationship between the Roman emperors and the Kushans has a great influence in determining the characteristics of the Buddhist sculptures in Gandhara. The artworks found in Taxila, Punjab and Begram boasts of the cultural connection from Greco-Roman West. |
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These artworks are found in the museums around the world.
The examples of Hellenistic art are mostly found in the form of architecture on several temples in the city of Sirkap, Taxila. Hellenistic back ground is a signature mark of Gandhara art. Workers from the eastern centre of the Roman Empire were hired to create the Buddhist sculptures. Then Kushans also hired skilled artists for sculpting the monuments that boasts of a wonderful tradition of Buddhist sculptures in Gandhara. Most of the Gandharan artworks were sculpted by the native artisans who were very much under the foreign influence. In most of the cases the subject of the Gandhara sculptures are Buddhist.
Browse through Buddhistsculptures.com for more information about the Buddhist sculptures in Gandhara which is among the prominent schools representing the Buddhist sculpture in India.
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