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Unknown Maker, Gandharan

Head of Buddha Shakyamuni
Now On View

Description

Maker

Unknown Maker, Gandharan

Culture

Gandharan

Title

Head of Buddha Shakyamuni

Period

Kushan Period

Year

1-200 CE

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

schist

Geography

Place Made: Gandhara

Dimensions

28.9 x 17.5 x 17.8 cm (11 3/8 x 6 7/8 x 7 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Helen M. Danforth Fund

Object Number

81.211

Type

Projects & Publications

Publications

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

A Decade of Collecting (Costume and Textiles)
Jul 17, 1987 – Sep 06, 1987
A Decade of Collecting (Painting and Sculpture; Prints, Drawings, and Photographs)
Jun 26, 1987 – Sep 20, 1987
Indian Art for the RISD Collection
Aug 23, 1985 – Mar 09, 1986

Label copy

Born in the Himalayan foothils as the prince Siddhartha Gautama in the mid-6th century B.C.E., the Buddha (Enlightened One) renounced his wordly riches in favor of meditation and teaching. His ethical teachings would later have a profound influence in almost all corners of Asia. At first he was only represented by abstract symbols but later he was also shown in human form. This head detached from a larger figure exhibits the classical traits so typical of works from Gandhara, an area to the northwest of India which had been conquered by Alexander the Great in 327 B.C.E.

Rockefeller Asian Art Gallery

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Gandharan
Head of Buddha Shakyamuni, 1-200 CE
Gray schist
28.9 x 17.5 x 17.8 cm (11 3/8 x 6 7/8 x 7 inches)
Helen M. Danforth Fund 81.211

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