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Sculpture from the Kushan Period
The Kushans, descendants of nomads from various parts of Central Asia, settled in what is present-day northern India, the Gandhara region of Pakistan, and eastern Afghanistan by the 2nd century B.C.E., although it was not until the 1st century C.E. that the empire was united under one ruler. There were two artistic centers of the Kushan empire, each with a distinctive style: a northern one in the Gandhara region centered around Peshawar and later in Taxila, and a southern one in Mathura, south of present-day New Delhi. Art from the Gandhara region shows the strong impact of Greek and Roman sculpture, owing in part to the conquests of Alexander the Great in that part of the world in the 4th century B.C.E. and to the strong diplomatic and trade relations between the Kushans and Rome. Its images wear toga-like garments and have wavy hair and straight Roman noses. Sculpture is usually created from dark gray phyllite, schist, stucco, or terra-cotta. By contrast, art from the southern Mathuran region developed from indigenous Indian traditions, emphasizing rounded bodily forms. Its voluptuous sculptural images wear minimal garments and are usually carved from red mottled sandstone. |
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Woman Beneath a Tree |
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Head of Buddha |
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Buddha |
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Kneeling Figure |
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Head of a Man |
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