Terracotta Heads From Ancient Gandhara

Abstract

Gandhara is a land that remained from a very early period an area of great turbulence, interface and a place for cross cultural activities. This land not only entertained to absorb, amalgamate and assimilate influences from these aliens but native cultural impact could also be observed in different cultures and arts of the neighboring territories outside the Indo-Pak subcontinent. The artistic manifestations in form of the Buddhist art of Gandhara reflects a cultural syncretism of both Indian and foreign inspirations. This art develop over a long period of several centuries and passed through different developmental stages and is depicted in different forms and executed in different types of materials. In the early art of ancient Gandhara, like other materials, clay also remained an important medium for making cult objects. Some of the earliest among these objects coming from Gandhara may represent mother-goddesses and some ritual objects probably come from Bhir Mound, Taxila (Rienjang 2010:203). Sometime stucco is cored with clay the tradition which continued for a very long period in this part of the world.