Softcover, 88 pages, color illustrations, Oxford 2023, new
This book considers Gandhāran art in relation to its religious contexts and meanings within ancient Buddhism. Addressing the responses of patrons and worshippers at the monasteries and shrines of Gandhāra, papers seek to understand more about why Gandhāran art was made and what its iconographical repertoire meant to ancient viewers.
Gandhāran Art in its Buddhist Context is the fifth set of papers from the workshops of the Classical Art Research Centre’s Gandhāra Connections project. These selected studies revolve around perhaps the most fundamental topic of all for understanding Gandhāran art: its religious contexts and meanings within ancient Buddhism.
Addressing the responses of patrons and worshippers at the monasteries and shrines of Gandhāra, these papers seek to understand more about why Gandhāran 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.