A History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day c10.s1.39

c10.s1.39

The Gandhāra sculptures suggest problems and speculations of many kinds. Regarded as an authentic expression of early religious tradition, they control and illustrate the testimony of the Buddhist scriptures, throwing much fresh light upon the beliefs and practices of the early followers of the Great Vehicle. Viewed as a collection of sacred effigies they serve as a guide to the iconography of Buddhism, an aspect of the study specially attractive to Dr. Burgess and M. Foucher, which must be almost ignored in this volume.