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1. Head of Buddha Sakyamuni Afghanistan, Shahi kingdoms 6th/ 7th century Onyx Marble height 47 cm. |
From the fifth century until 870 ce large parts of Afghanistan were ruled by the Hindu Shahis. Between 565 and 670 their kingdom was known as Kabul-Shahan, with capitals at Kapisa and Kabul, and later at Hund. These regions served as Buddhist centres, with sanctuaries for pilgrims travelling between the kingdoms of Kapisa and Nagarahara. Among these sacred places were the stupas of Shevda and Guldara and the monastery of Teppe Marandjan. Excavations of these sites by the French have revealed statues of buddhas and bodhisattvas in an almost perfect state of preservation. They are of a more Indian type than the Gandharan-style sculpture known from Hadda. A group of marble carvings came to light at Tagao and Gardez, all examples of a post-Gupta style exhibiting Indian characteristics, a compromise between the realistic mask-like treatment of Gandhara and the fullness of Gupta-style Buddha images. Archaeological sites of the period also include a major Hindu Shahi temple north of Kabul and a chapel in Ghazni containing both Buddhist and Hindu statues, indicating the close interaction between the two religions. Buddhist manuscripts discovered in a stupa in Gilgit reveal the name of the Shahi king – Srideva Sahi Surebdra Vikramaditya Nanda. The kings of Kashmir were also related to the Shahis through marital and political alliance. Further comparisons can be made with the Kashmir Smast style, named after a series of natural limestone caves in the mountains of northern Pakistan, which expanded from the Kushan to the Shahi periods. A stylistically comparable marble head (height 30.4 cm) from Charsadda dating from the fifth to sixth century is in the Peshawar Museum. The hairstyle of this magnificent and rare marble Buddha head is a restrained arrangement of finely twisted locks, a continuation of the earlier Gandharan style. Gupta stylistic traits, too, can be discerned in the full volume of the face with its well-fleshed cheeks, compressed mouth, long arched eyebrows, striking ears, well defined nose, and the typical circular pupils in the upward slanting eyes. Carved in beautiful white onyx marble, its large size, sculptural perfection and inspired expression underline the original importance of this rare Buddha head. Provenance: Private collection, Belgium. Art Loss Register Certificate, Reference S00027984. M.L. Carter, A Marble Acrolithic Head from Afghanistan. Afghanistan Ancien Carrefour entre l’Est et L’Ouest, Archaeologies of the Indian Ocean, Brepols, s.d., p.307-313. K. Schmidt and F.A. Khan, 5000 Jaar Kunst in Pakistan, catalogue, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, 1963, no.328. B. Rowland, Jr., Ancient Art from Afghanistan. Treasures of the Kabul Museum, The Asia Society, s.l., 1966, p.108-109, no.86,88,89. S. Kossak, The Arts of South and Southeast Asia, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1994, p.37, no.29. G. Ortiz, In Pursuit of the Absolute. Art of the Ancient World from the George Ortiz Collection, catalogue, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1994, ill.173. |