A Colossal Bodhisattva Head in the Peshawar Museum

Abstract

A bodhisattva head on display in the Peshawar Museum (accession number 2860; old number 1879) is an extraordinary piece in many ways (Figure 1). Although the body is entirely missing, the huge head alone measures 52 cm high. Since stone statues of this size in Gandhāra were invariably made in the standing pose, the bodhisattva head must also have been part of a standing image. Its original would have reached well over two meters high excepting the halo and the pedestal, possibly bigger than two colossal standing figures of the Buddha (Sidhāratha) in the Peshawar Museum. The hair flowing down to the sides covering the ears clearly indicates that the figure represents a bodhisattva. It is worth noting that the piece is the sole extant example as a bodhisattva on this scale, although we have several images or heads of the Buddha comparable in size. It is made of finely polished dark brownish schist, a material commonly used for such colossal statues in Gandhāra. The stone is so distinctive that it must have been quarried at a special location, yet unknown, and dressed for making colossal statues at a limited number of—if not one—workshops. . . .