History of Indian and Indonesian Art c8.s2.22

c8.s2.22

The most important remains of Gandhāran art have been found or still exist at Jalālābād, Hadda, and Bāmiyān in Afghānistān, in the Svāt Valley (Udyāna), and at or near Taxila and Peshāwar. At Jelālābād (= Nagarahara, scene of the Dīpaṅkara legend) is the Khaesta *stūpa*, with a magnificent basement; the lower part of the *stūpa* drum is adorned with niches and statues. At Hadda the Tappa Kalan monastery proved to be a veritable museum of Gandhāra sculpture, but nothing that has been excavated has escaped the iconoclasm of the local Musalmāns. At Bāmiyān are many monasteries, innumerable "caves" and some colossal Buddha images; nothing seems to antedate Kaniṣka. One of the colossal images, 53 metres in height, is well proportioned, and slightly "swayed". The trefoil niche in which it stands preserves remains of painting, more or less Indian in aspect. The painting at Bāmiyān, however, exhibits a great variety of styles, and inclines more to the later Central Asian, than to Indian types, as a rule. The Kaniṣka monasteries were built in the open; later in date are the innumerable excavated monastic dwellings¹. Sculptures from the Svāt valley (Udyāna) and many unknown sources are scattered in various collections all over the world, the most important series being that of the Lahore Museum, which includes the sculptures formerly at Peshāwar². The gray slate in which Gandhāra sculptures are executed is supposed to come from an unknown site in the Svāt valley.