Cultural advice

The Australian National University acknowledges, celebrates and pays our respects to the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people of the Canberra region and to all First Nations Australians on whose traditional lands we meet and work, and whose cultures are among the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that ANU Library collections may include images, names, voices, and other representations of deceased persons.

Material in the collection may contain terms, language or views that reflect the period in which the item was created and may be considered inappropriate today.

Ghandaran: Bodhisattva, 1st-2nd Century A.D.

Date

Authors

Photographer: Arthur Llewellyn Basham

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Abstract

Description

In slide 8, we mentioned a Buddha type peculiar to the Ghandarans: one that wore a beard or moustache, Such an example is pictured here assuming the 'preaching' attitude of other Indian Buddha images and imitating the drapery of those figures as well, The halo-like disc is a convention for signifying Buddha's enlightenment practically from the onset, so it has been included in the Ghandaran not unexpectedly, One hesitates to rank this type of Buddha with the more refined Mathura variety, however, it would be unfair to cast the former aside as completely without worth since it does make an interesting comparison to the other images developed and shows the degree to which the western arts influenced an eastern religious symbol, Western touches are present in the transparent drapery, the addition of the moustache and the sandals (not present since the feet are missing in this example), The so-called string folds' on the drapery are of Indian background and appear on other figures produced elsewhere in the country at this time, -- London, British Museum,

Citation

Source

Type

Archives Series

Basham Collection

Date created

circa 1970s

Access Statement

License Rights

This image is provided for research purposes only and must not be reproduced without the prior permission of the Archives Program, Australian National University.

DOI

Restricted until

Downloads