The Buddhist Art of Gandhara: The Story of the Early School, its Birth, Growth and Decline c13.s1.12

c13.s1.12

From what has been said above it will be apparent that there is something strangely anomalous about the art of this Sanghao-Nathu School. On the one hand, the workmanship, that is, the actual carving of the stone, is for the most part coarse and unskilful—so much so that one might conclude from it that the School had but recently come into being when these sculptures were executed. On the other hand, the technique of the relief-work, the modelling of individual figures and the handling of the group compositions—all demonstrate a stage of development far removed from the primitive. And the orthodox way in which the sacred legends are set forth also goes to show that the School already had well-established traditions behind it. Although, therefore, these sculptures happen to be the earliest examples of this group known to us, it is clear that they must have been preceded by many still earlier efforts going back to the early part of the first century A.D.