Ancient Gandhara, located in the rugged foothills of the Himalayas in what is today northwest Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan, was for centuries a thriving center of trade along the Silk Road linking China, South Asia, and the Mediterranean. Gandhara’s strategic position and wealth attracted many invaders, including the Greeks, Parthians, and Kushans, who brought with them diverse religious traditions and artistic conventions. Much of Gandharan art is thus a compelling fusion of foreign styles that ultimately gave visual form to the region’s Buddhist religious ideals. Buddhism, which had emerged from north India, was embraced by the Gandharan people, whose wealth gave them the means to invest large sums of money in the construction of Buddhist monasteries and sacred areas. More sculpture and architecture made in the service of Buddhism has been found in Greater Gandhara than in any other part of ancient South Asia. This volume, drawing on the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, traces the complex and evolving artistic heritage of ancient Gandhara from the time of Alexander the Great’s conquest of the region, in 330 B.C., to the 8th century A.D. Nearly 70 extraordinary works have been selected to highlight the Museum’s collection of Gandharan art. In surveying these important pieces, this volume relies on the latest scholarship to refine our understanding of Gandhara’s complex cultural history as well as its evolving artistic traditions.

128 pages, 115 illustrations (90 in full color), 8 1/2 in. x 11 in. Paper.

The Art of the Gandhara in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
05-007943
Member Price: $22.45 each
Non-Member Price: $24.95 each


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