Sculpture bust indo-greek gandhara head bodhisattva with headdress terracotta pakistan

Art antiquity indo-greek sculpture gandhara head of man bodhisattva with headdress terracotta pakistan near east circa 1st - 4th century. Material: clay, terracotta. Period: 1st - 4th century. Location: swat, northern pakistan, near east. Size: Height: 16 cm. Width: 10 cm. Depth: 12 cm. Weight: 1, 036 kg. In ancient india, gandhāra was a kingdom that covered northwestern india, northern pakistan and eastern afghanistan. He traveled through the valleys of swat, the indus and stopped at taxila where the most works of art were found. Its capital was peshawar (formerly called purushapura). Unlike the buddha, the bodhisattva is dressed and has a sophisticated hairstyle and mustache. The theme of the awakened being treated here is recurrent in greco-buddhist art. The bodhisattva is represented under hellenizing (greek) features, especially with his straight nose, but his mustache or hairstyle testifies to a custom with distant origins. We also notice the care given to the bun (the ushnisha) but also to the ornament of the hair. The arts of gandhara highlight the richness of a civilization nourished by its geographical location and its history made of conquests and encounters between greek and indian cultures.

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