Greco-Buddhist art
Sign in to saveAlso known as Gandhara art, art of Gandhara
ancient art movement developed in Ancient Pakistan
Key facts
- Years active
- 1st century BC -5th century AD
- Location
- Central Asia , South Asia
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- architectural style
- Subclass of
- Indian art
- Image
- Tapa Shotor seated Buddha (Niche V1).jpg
Show 2 more facts
- Commons category
- Greco-Buddhist art
- influenced by
- Hellenistic art
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Greco-Buddhist art or Gandhara art is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between Ancient Greek art and Buddhism. It had mainly evolved in the ancient region of Gandhara, located in the northwestern fringe of the Indian subcontinent.
The series of interactions leading to Gandhara art occurred over time, beginning with Alexander the Great's brief incursion into the area, followed by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka converting the region to Buddhism. Buddhism became the prominent religion in the Indo-Greek Kingdoms. However, Greco-Buddhist art truly flowered and spread under the Kushan Empire, when the first surviving devotional images of the Buddha were created during the 1st-3rd centuries AD. Gandhara art reached its zenith from the 3rd-5th century AD, when most surviving motifs and artworks were produced.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Greco-Buddhist art” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.