The Buddhist Art of Gandhara: The Story of the Early School, its Birth, Growth and Decline c13.s2.13

c13.s2.13

The above reliefs may be judged to belong to the early part of the Adolescent Period, that is, to about the middle or third quarter of the first century A.D. In the two following pieces (figs. 82, 83), the process of Indianization has gone substantially further. The two are companion pieces from a monument at Kāfir-kot, and are in precisely the same style, and made of the same grey micaceous schist. In fig. 82, a Nāga-rāja is seen seated on his throne beneath his canopy of multiple snake heads, with nāgī musicians and attendants to right and left, each distinguished by the single hood behind her head. The hoods are not very convincing but a comparison with other sculptures of the same kind leaves no doubt as to what they were intended to represent. The other piece (fig. 83) is a drinking scene of the favourite type, with the Nāga-rāja and his queen seated in the centre, holding wine-cups in their hands, while attendant nāgīs on either side are bringing other vessels to supply their needs. Nāgas and nāgīs are, of course, essentially Indian concepts, but both of these scenes are clearly inspired by the drinking and musical scenes of Graeco-Parthian art (e.g. figs. 40, 41, 49, 50, 51 supra). Observe that in both reliefs the attendants are wearing Graeco-Parthian wreaths on their heads, and that one of them (next to the Nāga-rāja in fig. 83) is holding up a characteristic Parthian goblet in her fingers in the same peculiar way as one of the male drinkers (third from right) in fig. 40, while another has a drinking horn in her hand. Observe also in fig. 83 the Greek-looking krater on the ground, and the man next to it wearing a short Greek chiton and carrying a familiar wine-skin over his shoulder. All these features are clearly inspired by Graeco-Parthian prototypes; but on the other hand the dress of both nāgas and nāgīs is Indian rather than Greek, and the anklets worn by the women are typically Indian. Note that the musical instruments are partly Greek, partly Indian.