Frieze of Buddhist Figures
Artist/Culture
Gandhara
DateKushan period, 100s CE
Mediumschist, high relief
ClassificationsSculpture
MarkingsNo marks.
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Terms
Object number1926.3
DescriptionSeven relief panels in fragmentary state. Figures placed against a plain background without any overlapping of figures, characteristic of early Gandharan style. Except for one pilgrim carrying a staff, the figures appear to be male and female noble donors bearing offerings of lotuses and other gifts. The donors wear Indian dress, such as a long scarf and a dhoti, or garment wrapped around the waist. The pilgrim wears a Roman toga and a Phrygian cap. Individualized treatment of the figures where some of them are mustachioed and turbanned while others are curly-haired and clean shaven.Label TextThese seven relief panels once decorated the exterior of a Buddhist building in the Gandharan region of northwest India (present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan). Except for one pilgrim who carries a staff, the figures appear to be donors bearing offerings of lotuses and other gifts. The donors wear Indian dress, such as a long scarf and a dhoti, or garment wrapped around the waist, while the pilgrim wears a Roman toga and a Phrygian cap. The individualized treatment of the figures where some of them are mustachioed and turbanned while others are curly-haired and clean shaven reflects the ethnic diversity and appeal of the Buddhist religion.Provenance(By 1925, Raymond Henniker-Heaton [1874-1963], London); 1926, purchased by the Worcester Art Museum.
On View
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