Buddhism and Gandhara: An Archaeology of Museum Collections (Archaeology and Religion in South Asia)

Gandhara is a name central to Buddhist heritage and iconography. It is the ancient name of a region in present-day Pakistan, bounded on the west by the Hindu Kush mountain range and to the north by the foothills of the Himalayas. ‘Gandhara’ is also the term given to this region’s sculptural and architectural features between the first and sixth centuries CE. This book re-examines the archaeological material excavated in the region in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and traces the link between archaeological work, histories of museum collections and related interpretations by art historians. The essays in the volume underscore the diverse cultural traditions of Gandhara – from a variety of sources and perspectives on language, ethnicity and material culture (including classical accounts, Chinese writings, coins and Sanskrit epics) – as well as interrogate the grand narrative of Hellenism of which Gandhara has been a part. The book explores the making of collections of what came to be described as Gandhara art and reviews the Buddhist artistic tradition through notions of mobility and dynamic networks of transmission. Wide ranging and rigorous, this volume will appeal to scholars and researchers of early South Asian history, archaeology, religion (especially Buddhist studies), art history and museums. About the Author Himanshu Prabha Ray is affiliated to Ludwig Maximillian University Munich, Germany, and is recipient of the Anneliese Maier research award of the Humboldt Foundation. She is former Chairperson of the National Monuments Authority, Ministry of Culture, Government of India and former Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. She is Member of the Governing Board, The Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Her recent books include The Archaeology of Sacred Spaces: The Temple in Western India, 2nd Century BCE – 8th Century CE (with Susan Verma Mishra, 2017); The Return of the Buddha: Ancient Symbols for a New Nation (2014); and The Archaeology of Seafaring in Ancient South Asia (2003). Among her earlier works are The Winds of Change: Buddhism and the Maritime Links of Early South Asia (1994) and Monastery and Guild: Commerce under the Satavahanas (1986), in addition to the edited volumes Bridging The Gulf: Maritime Cultural Heritage of the Western Indian Ocean (2016); Indian World Heritage Sites in Context (2014); and Satish Chandra and Himanshu Prabha Ray (eds.), The Sea, Identity and History: From the Bay of Bengal to the South China Sea (2013). Her latest book is entitled Archaeology and Buddhism in South Asia (2017). Her research interests include maritime history and archaeology of the Indian Ocean, the history of archaeology in South and Southeast Asia and the archaeology of religion in Asia. "Gandhara is a name central to Buddhist heritage and iconography. It is the ancient name of a region in present-day Pakistan, bounded on the west by the Hindu Kush mountain range and to the north by the foothills of the Himalayas. â#x80;#x98;Gandharaâ#x80;#x99; is also the term given to this regionâ#x80;#x99;s sculptural and architectural features between the first and sixth centuries CE. This book re-examines the archaeological material excavated in the region in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and traces the link between archaeological work, histories of museum collections and related interpretations by art historians. The essays in the volume underscore the diverse cultural traditions of Gandhara â#x80;#x93; from a variety of sources and perspectives on language, ethnicity and material culture (including classical accounts, Chinese writings, coins and Sanskrit epics) â#x80;#x93; as well as interrogate the grand narrative of Hellenism of which Gandhara has been a part. The book explores the making of collections of what came to be described as Gandhara art and reviews the Buddhist artistic tradition through notions of mobility and dynamic networks of transmission. Wide ranging and rigorous, this volume will appeal to scholars and researchers of early South Asian history, archaeology, religion (especially Buddhist studies), art history and museums."--Provided by publisher Cover 1 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 List of figures 8 List of tables 11 Notes on contributors 12 Foreword 15 Acknowledgements 18 Introduction 20 1 Greek or Indian? The Questions of Menander and onomastic patterns in early Gandhāra 52 2 “Tis all here. A treasure locked”: unlocking the wonder house of the Chinese Buddhist travelogues 66 3 Numismatics of ‘the Other’: investigating coinage and ‘Greekness’ at Taxila 89 4 Region through text: representation of Gandhāra in the Mahābhārata 123 5 Charles Masson: a footloose antiquarian in Afghanistan and the building up of numismatic collections in the museums in India and England 149 6 The collection of Gandharan art in the residence of the Malakand Political Agent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan 173 7 Vajīrasthāna/Bazira and beyond: foundation and current status of the archaeological work in Swat 192 8 The beginning and development of Gandhāran collections in German public museums 232 9 Decoding Gandharan art: the making of museum collections in India 251 Index 280