The Buddhist Art of Gandhara: The Story of the Early School, its Birth, Growth and Decline c16.10

c16.10

The one unmutilated head of the *deva* in the background belongs to a type that became very familiar in the latter part of the second century A.D. but is quite unlike any *deva* of the preceding century. Were there still any likelihood of this relief being confused (as it used to be) with the earlier work, this head alone would suffice to settle the question. The conventional beauty and superb craftsmanship that distinguish this sculpture are characteristic of a great variety of other sculptures referable to the same age, including many fine architectural pieces and a great array of Buddha and Bodhisattva statues (e.g. figs. 128, 129, 138, 139, 140, 142, etc.).