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Essays on Ancient Oriental Art

This section brings together a series of essays dedicated to ancient Hindu-Buddhist art, with particular attention to sculptures, architectural fragments, and sacred images from India, Gandhara, Nepal, Tibet, and Central Asia.

These thematic routes bring together studies of images, materials and regional traditions, with close readings of works from the gallery and documented museum comparisons.

Gandhara: images, narrative and materials

Gandharan Sculpture, seated Buddha, Pakistan, 1st or 2nd century, bronze, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The art of Gandhara

Buddha Gandhara Dalton Somare 1

Schist, stucco and colour in Gandharan sculpture

Narrative Panel Dalton Somare Milano

Narrating the Buddha’s life: Mara’s assault in Gandharan reliefs

India: Hindu and Buddhist iconography

Shiva as Lord of Dance Nataraja Indian Tamil Nadu ca. late 11th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The iconography of Shiva

Image of a standing Buddha, Pakistan, ancient region of Gandhara, 6th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Buddhist sculpture

image of Padmapani, Nepal, 11th century, gilt bronze, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Padmapani, the lotus bearer

Buddhist mudra, Gupta period, 6th century, bronze

Mudras in Buddhist sculpture

Vishnu India (Punjab) 10th–11th century, sandstone, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Hindu art: images and worship

Padmapani Bodhisattva India Pala Period, 11th cent. 47 cm

Pala art: Buddhist sculpture and images of compassion in eastern India

Bust of a crowned Buddha, Kushan kingdom, Mathura India, pink sandstone, Dalton Somaré Milano

Buddhist traditions and images: Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana

image of seated Buddha Shakyamuni, Central Tibet, 12th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The iconography of the Buddha

Image of the Buddha, Uttar Pradesh, India, late 5th century, sandstone, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Indo-Buddhist sculpture: the formation and circulation of models

Himalayas: Nepal, Tibet and Kashmir

The Buddha Western Himalaya 9th cent. 22 cm

Kashmir sculpture: copper-alloy images in the western Himalayas

Bookcover Nepal 12th cent. circa 67 x 17 cm

Buddhist manuscripts of Nepal: the covers of the Prajñāpāramitā

Tara Bodhisattva Nepal 16th cent. 57 cm, Dalton Somaré Milano

India, Nepal and Tibet: exchange and sculptural traditions

Bodhisattva Tara, Nepal Kathmandu Valley, 12th-early 13th century, gilt bronze, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Tara in Buddhist sculpture

Image of Vishnu, Nepal, Kathmandu, 12th century, gilt bronze, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Himalayan sculpture: metals and workmanship

Southeast Asia: sacred images and regional traditions

Hari Hara Cambodia Pre Khmer, 7th - 8th cent. 40 cm

Khmer sculpture: Harihara, the divine body and the carving of dress

Image of Hari Hara, Cambodia or Vietnam, 7th or 8th century, sandstone, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Harihara: Shiva and Vishnu in a single image

Image of Brahma, Cambodia, 10th century, sandstone, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Sacred sculpture of Southeast Asia