Special Features of the Buddhist Art in the Swāt Valley

Abstract

The ancient Buddhist art of the Indus-Oxus region has been the focus of scholarly discussion for more than a century and a half. This is frequently referred to, although inappropriately, as Gandhāra or Gandhāran art from the end of nineteenth century AD onward because of two reasons: firstly, it was discovered in the territory called Gandhāra in ancient times; secondly, it is due to broad similarity in the style of art pieces coming from a wide area spreading from the Indus in the east (in Pakistan) to the Oxus in the north-west (northern Afghanistan and part of Central Asia). Although a huge corpus of research is available concerning broader issues, it is a growing tendency among the scholars to concentrate now on local traditions which contributed to the emergence and development of the so called Gandhāra art. It is under this obligation that the author undertook study of sculptures from different localities in the Swāt Valley most recently excavated by the Department of Archaeology, University of Peshawar, (hereafter Peshawar University). . . .