Tag: Gandharan

Free Download Wannaporn Rienjan, "Gandharan Art in Its Buddhist Context: Papers from the Fifth International Workshop of the Gandhara Connections Project,"
English | ISBN: 1803274735 | 2023 | 96 pages | PDF | 6 MB
Gandharan Art in its Buddhist Context is the fifth set of papers from the workshops of the Classical Art Research Centre’s Gandhara Connections project. These selected studies revolve around perhaps the most fundamental topic of all for understanding Gandharan art: its religious contexts and meanings within ancient Buddhism. Addressing the responses of patrons and worshippers at the monasteries and shrines of Gandhara, these papers seek to understand more about why Gandharan art was made and what its iconographical repertoire meant to ancient viewers. The contributions from an array of international experts consider dedicatory practices in monasteries, the representation of Buddhas, and the lessons to be learned from some of the latest excavations and survey work in the region.

Free Download Peter Stewart, "Gandharan Art and the Classical World: A Short Introduction"
English | ISBN: 1803276940 | 2023 | 94 pages | PDF | 6 MB
In the early centuries AD, the small region of Gandhara (centred on what is now northern Pakistan) produced an extraordinary tradition of Buddhist art which eventually had an immense influence across Asia. Mainly produced to adorn monasteries and shrines, Gandharan sculptures celebrate the Buddha himself, the stories of his life and the many sacred characters of the Buddhist cosmos. Since this imagery was rediscovered in the nineteenth century, one of its most fascinating and puzzling aspects is the extent to which it draws on the conventions of Greek and Roman art, which originated thousands of kilometres to the west. Inspired by the Gandhara Connections project at Oxford University’s Classical Art Research Centre, this book offers an introduction to Gandharan art and the mystery of its relationship with the Graeco-Roman world of the Mediterranean. It presents an accessible explanation of the ancient and modern contexts of Gandharan art, the state of scholarship on the subject, and guidance for further, in-depth study.