Mathura: Kushan Emperor Wima Kadphises II on throne, 2nd Century A.D.
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Photographer: Arthur Llewellyn Basham
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The dignity of Kushan rulers as seen in their portraits on coins is confined in larger stone sculptures like the present example and that in the previous slide, This headless statue, measuring about six feet ten inches in height, shows the emperor seated on a lion-throne holding in his right hand a sword and in his left the scabbard which is laid across his knees, His dress is in the same handsome but simple style as Emperor Kanishka in slide 18, but does show a bit more decoration in a delicately embroidered border running three inches wide at the cuffs and hem, Trousers and leather boots are also worn, thus completing a costume of typically northern orientation known to have been characteristic of Scythians, An inscription on the top of the foot-stool at the king's feet identifies the figure including his popular title, Wima, and a complimentary subtitle, takshama, which is Old-Iranian for strong or brave, In style, the sculpture is distinctly matter-of-fact in conception, but unquestionably dignified in the same light, Carving is treated somewhat more three-dimensionally than in the Kanishka statue, perhaps due to the type of seated pose the figure is in, or because the figure was to be placed where it would be viewed other than frontally, -- Mathura, Curzon Museum,
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Basham Collection
Date created
circa 1970s
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This image is provided for research purposes only and must not be reproduced without the prior permission of the Archives Program, Australian National University.
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