Object Description
Gandhran sculpture or a female form executed in gray schist dating from the 2nd or 3rd century
Posed in a downward gaze this figure of a sensual dancer bears her weight to her right leg with excentuated hips and exposed mid-riff . The delicate Carving captures the subtle drapes of her traditional dress, hellenic influenced features and following pinned back hair.
Custom mounted on black wooden plinth.
Gandhara, one of 42 provinces of the Persian Achaemenian Empire (6th – 4th Century BCE) comprised Peshawar Valley, Buner, Swat, Bajaur, western Punjab and eastern Afghanistan. Here the Mahayana Buddhist sculptures – better known as Gandhara art – developed during 1-5 Centuries CE. It is a mix of Hellenic and Indian influences, developed mainly during rule of the Kushans, with contributions from the Greeks, Scythians and Parthians. This art introduced Buddha’s image and the iconography which was developed influenced Buddhist religious art across the world.