Ancient Art of Asia
Ancient Asian Art in Italy
Dalton Somaré is a gallery based in Milan specializing in ancient Asian art and Indo-Buddhist sculpture, and represents a point of reference in Italy for artworks from India, the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia.
For over thirty years, the gallery has selected works distinguished by formal quality, historical importance, and symbolic depth, contributing to the recognition of Asian art within the Italian and international context.
From Gandhara to India and Southeast Asia
Ancient Asian art, extending from Gandhara to India, from the Himalayas to Southeast Asia, represents a fundamental part of global artistic heritage.
It emerges from the encounter between Greco-Roman artistic language and the religious and philosophical traditions of Asia, giving rise to a refined visual system capable of expressing complex spiritual concepts.
Indo-Buddhist art and symbolic language
Early Indo-Buddhist art developed a highly codified iconographic language, where gestures, postures, and attributes carry precise meanings.
In Gandhara and northern India, the first anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha appear, combining classical naturalism with a profound symbolic dimension.
A living legacy
Today, ancient Asian art can be rediscovered through a contemporary perspective.
Its formal clarity and symbolic richness allow these works to resonate strongly within modern collections and current visual culture.
Collecting ancient Asian art
Works from India, the Himalayan regions, and Southeast Asia represent an important field of refined and international collecting.
Their balance between aesthetic quality and spiritual meaning makes them central to the dialogue between past and present.
Further reading
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Ancient Oriental Art Gallery in Milano. From Gandhara to India and Southeast Asia
Ancient Oriental Art, stretching from the historic region of Gandhara across the vast landscapes of India, from the Himalayan ranges to Southeast Asia, is deeply interwoven with our shared cultural heritage. This artistic tradition represents a continuum of ideas, beliefs, and visual expressions shaped through centuries of cultural exchange.
It emerged at a remarkable crossroads, where Greco-Roman art encountered the spiritual visions and symbolic languages of Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. The result was not merely a fusion of styles, but a transformation that gave rise to new artistic forms capable of expressing complex religious and philosophical concepts.
Spiritual Symbolism in Hindu-Buddhist Art
Sculptures, reliefs, and devotional objects within Hindu-Buddhist art reveal an extraordinary sensitivity to both the physical and the transcendent. The human figure, often central in Indian and Southeast Asian art, is rendered not only as a corporeal presence but as a vehicle for spiritual meaning. Ideals such as serenity, compassion, and enlightenment are conveyed through refined iconographic systems, where gesture, posture, and ornament carry layered symbolic significance.
At the same time, regional variations developed across India, the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia, reflecting local materials, artistic techniques, and cultural identities, while maintaining a shared visual language.
Pathways in ancient Asian art
The following links organise selected works by strong historical and artistic areas, avoiding overly broad clusters or weak associations.
Art of Gandhara
Sculptures and reliefs documenting the encounter between Hellenistic visual culture, the Kushan world and Buddhist iconography.
- Sakyamuni as an itinerant monk, Gandhara
- Gandhara Buddha, Kushan period
- Mara Assault relief, Gandhara
- Emaciated Siddhartha, Gandhara
- Hand of the Buddha, Gandhara
Indo-Buddhist art
A group dedicated to Buddhist images and bodhisattvas, where gesture, posture and attributes define the spiritual role of each work.
- Padmapani Bodhisattva, Swat Valley
- Padmapani Pala sculpture, India
- Bodhisattva in Dharmachakra Mudra, Nepal
- Tara, Nepal
- Manuscript cover with Prajnaparamita, Nepal
India, the Himalayas and Nepal
Works from northern India and the Himalayan region, including bronze, gilt copper and sculptures connected with different ritual contexts.
The Enduring Legacy of Ancient Oriental Art
In today’s increasingly interconnected world, renewed cultural exchange provides an ideal context for Ancient Oriental Art to reveal the enduring allure of its antiquity and its timeless aesthetic significance. Collectors, scholars, and audiences are now better positioned to appreciate both its historical importance and its continuing relevance.
These works invite us to engage with a worldview in which art functions as a bridge between the material and the spiritual, the individual and the universal. By revisiting and recontextualizing Ancient Oriental Art, we gain insight into a legacy that transcends geographical and temporal boundaries.
Its forms and symbols continue to inspire, confirming the role of art as a powerful medium for dialogue across cultures, capable of preserving memory while shaping new ways of understanding the world.
The Gallery’s research is also documented through a series of Publications, while in-depth studies of individual sculptures can be found in our Archive selections and Monthly Highlights.
