The Global Connections of Gandhāran Art

This volume addresses directly the question of cross-cultural influence on and by Gandharan art. The contributors wrestle with old controversies, particularly the notion that Gandharan art is a legacy of Hellenistic Greek rule in Central Asia and the growing consensus around the important role of the Roman Empire in shaping it.

Gandharan art is often regarded as the epitome of cultural exchange in antiquity. The ancient region of Gandhara, centred on what is now the northern tip of Pakistan, has been called the ‘crossroads of Asia’. The Buddhist art produced in and around this area in the first few centuries AD exhibits extraordinary connections with other traditions across Asia and as far as the Mediterranean. Since the nineteenth century, the Graeco-Roman associations of Gandharan art have attracted particular attention. Classically educated soldiers and administrators of that era were astonished by the uncanny resemblance of many works of Gandharan sculpture to Greek and Roman art made thousands of miles to the west. More than a century later we can recognize that the Gandharan artists’ appropriation of classical iconography and styles was diverse and extensive, but the explanation of this ‘influence’ remains puzzling and elusive. The Gandhara Connections project at the University of Oxford’s Classical Art Research Centre was initiated principally to cast new light on this old problem. This volume is the third set of proceedings of the project’s annual workshop, and the first to address directly the question of cross-cultural influence on and by Gandharan art. The contributors wrestle with old controversies, particularly the notion that Gandharan art is a legacy of Hellenistic Greek rule in Central Asia and the growing consensus around the important role of the Roman Empire in shaping it. But they also seek to present a more complex and expansive view of the networks in which Gandhara was embedded. Adopting a global perspective on the subject, they examine aspects of Gandhara’s connections both within and beyond South Asia and Central Asia, including the profound influence which Gandharan art itself had on the development of Buddhist art in China and India.

Preface - Wannaporn Rienjang and Peter Stewart (vi-vii) Part 1 Global perspectives Gandhara perceptions: the orbit of Gandharan studies - Warwick Ball (1-25) Part 2 The Graeco-Roman connection - Martina Stoye (29-49) Roman sarcophagi and Gandharan sculpture - Peter Stewart (50-85) The transmission of Dionysiac imagery to Gandharan Buddhist art - Tadashi Tanabe (86-101) Part 3 Asian influences Buddha on the Rocks: Gandharan connections through the Karakorum mountains - M. E. J. J. van Aerde, A. D. L. Mohns, and A. G. Khan (105-134) Buddhist temples in Tukharistan and their relationships with Gandharan traditions - Shumpei Iwai (135-155) More Gandhara than Mathura: substantial and persistent Gandharan influences provincialized in the Buddhist material culture of Gujarat and beyond, c. AD 400-550 - Ken Ishikawa (156-204) Part 4 Gandhara and China Cross-cultural Buddhist monastery ruins on the Silk Road and beyond: the layout and function of Buddhist monasteries reconsidered - Joy Yi Lidu (207-233) The sinicization and secularization of some Graeco-Buddhist gods in China - Juping Yang (234-247) Part 5 Epilogue De-fragmenting Gandharan art: advancing analysis through digital imaging and visualization - Ian Haynes, Iwan Peverett, Wannaporn Rienjang with contributions by Luca M. Olivieri (251-264), Preface – Wannaporn Rienjang and Peter Stewart (vi-vii): DOI: 10.32028/9781789696950-1 ;
Part 1 Global perspectives Gandhāra perceptions: the orbit of Gandhāran studies – Warwick Ball (1-25): DOI: 10.32028/9781789696950-2 ;
Part 2 The Graeco-Roman connection On the crossroads of disciplines: Tonio Hölscher’s theory of understanding Roman art images and its implications for the study of western influence(s) in Gandhāran art – Martina Stoye (29-49): DOI: 10.32028/9781789696950-3 ;
Roman sarcophagi and Gandhāran sculpture – Peter Stewart (50-85): DOI: 10.32028/9781789696950-4 ;
The transmission of Dionysiac imagery to Gandhāran Buddhist art – Tadashi Tanabe (86-101): DOI: 10.32028/9781789696950-5 ;
Part 3 Asian influences Buddha on the Rocks: Gandhāran connections through the Karakorum mountains – M. E. J. J. van Aerde, A. D. L. Mohns, and A. G. Khan (105-134): DOI: 10.32028/9781789696950-6 ;
Buddhist temples in Tukhāristān and their relationships with Gandhāran traditions – Shumpei Iwai (135-155): DOI: 10.32028/9781789696950-7 ;
More Gandhāra than Mathurā: substantial and persistent Gandhāran influences provincialized in the Buddhist material culture of Gujarat and beyond, c. AD 400-550 – Ken Ishikawa (156-204): DOI: 10.32028/9781789696950-8 ;
Part 4 Gandhāra and China Cross-cultural Buddhist monastery ruins on the Silk Road and beyond: the layout and function of Buddhist monasteries reconsidered – Joy Yi Lidu (207-233): DOI: 10.32028/9781789696950-11 ;
The sinicization and secularization of some Graeco-Buddhist gods in China – Juping Yang (234-247): DOI: 10.32028/9781789696950-9 ;
Part 5 Epilogue De-fragmenting Gandhāran art: advancing analysis through digital imaging and visualization – Ian Haynes, Iwan Peverett, Wannaporn Rienjang with contributions by Luca M. Olivieri (251-264): DOI: 10.32028/9781789696950-10