Buddha

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This is a statue of Gautama Buddha, an ascetic and sage who founded Buddhism through his teachings. He lived and taught primarily in ancient India's eastern region between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE. The Buddha can be identified by distinctive features including the ushnisha, a protrusion on his head shaped like a bun hairstyle, and the urna, a tuft of hair between his eyes from which he emits a radiant beam of light revealing the entire universe. On the pedestal beneath him stand two Hindu gods, Brahma and Indra, incorporated into Buddhism as guardian deities while meditating. This sculpture is from Gandhara, an ancient region spanning modern-day northwest Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandharan art displays close affinities with ancient Greek and Roman art, evident in the flowing folds of robes and chiselled facial features. Greek forces occupied the area in 330 BCE, followed by Indian, Persian, and central Asian forces between 300 BCE and 460 CE, drawn to Gandhara's strategic location along caravan routes connecting China to lands farther west. Trade fueled this influx as Gandhara served as a vital hub for all travelers seeking economic opportunities. This object was scanned by the Minneapolis Institute of Art.