Worldwide Locations
Worldwide Locations
The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara
Standing bodhisattva Maitreya. Pakistan. 3rd–4th century. Grey schist. H. 39 3/8 x W. 15 3/16 x D. 5 1/2 in. (100 x 38.5 x 14 cm). Central Museum, Lahore, G-131.
Asia Society Museum presents an exhibition of spectacular Buddhist sculptures, architectural reliefs and works of gold and bronze from the Gandhara region of Pakistan, most never exhibited before in the United States. The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara reveals the complex cultural influences — from Scytho-Parthian to Greco-Roman traditions — that fed the extraordinary artistic production of this region from the first century B.C.E. through fifth century C.E.
At its height, Gandhara — whose center was situated in present-day Peshawar in northwest Pakistan — encompassed Bamiyan in Afghanistan, Bactria, the Hindu Kush, and the Punjab region of northwest India.
Buddhism reached Gandhara as early as the third century B.C.E., and began to flourish in the first century C.E. as Silk Road trade and cross-cultural connections from the Mediterranean to China fostered its spread.
The majority of works in the exhibition are on loan from the National Museum in Karachi and Central Museum in Lahore. Comparative works are included from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Asia Society Museum, and private collections. The display is organized by Adriana Proser, Asia Society Museum's John H. Foster Curator for Traditional Asian Art.
The exhibition is accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue published by Asia Society in association with the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik in Bonn, Germany. The book includes essays by scholars Christian Luczanits and Michael Jansen.
How ironic the biggest 'Afghan' city is Karachi and the 2nd biggest Peshawar which are not in Afghanistan but in Pakistan.
How ironic General Ayoub Khan Tareen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tareen) was not the army chief and President of Afghanistan but Pakistan.
How ironic General Musa Khan Hazara (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazara_people) was not the 2nd native Army chief of Afghanistan but Pakistan.
How ironic Dr A Q Khan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Qadeer_Khan#Early_life) another 'Afghan' is also a 'Mohajir' and is not the so called father of Afghan Nuclear Bomb but Pakistan.
And how doubly ironic that while I am arguing with you as a Pakistani my mom is of Chughati/Durrani decent and her paternal grandfather was a Persian speaking Afghan who came to what is Pakistan as teenager about 100 years ago & her maternal great great father came from Balkh.
Peace.
Interesting points being made here, but you're entirely wrong that Pakistan "revels" in this history. These rare artifacts are under threat in Pakistan and appreciated by a scant few. It took the diligent work of curators and diplomats in the US and Pakistan to bring this show to Asia Society--without them these pieces would not be receiving this new attention. Without equal diligence in the future these works will surely be destroyed within Pakistan the same way the Bamiyan statues were in Afghanistan.
Gandahara is a celebration of an ancient Afghan civilization that a Punjabi-Muhajir Pakistan has inherited from their servitude to British Colonialism. This is not "Pakistani" history, but that of the collective history of the Afghan people. It would serve all those interested in the region's history well to remember this. Today, what's left of Afghanistan is being anihilated by Pakistan's IslamoFascist proxies by way of the Taliban to pave the way for the rise of the Punjabi dominated nuclear Caliphate.
How ironic that Pakistan today revels in a history that does not belong to them, while their proxies running amock in Afghanistan destroyed the Buddhas of Bamyan as nothing other than cultural genocide.
For God sake. I quote from Wikipedia:
"Gandhāra (Sanskrit and Hindi: गन्धार, Punjabi: گندھارہ , Pashto: ګندهارا, Urdu: گندھارا, Gandḥārā; also known as ویهیند Waihind in Persian) is the name of an ancient kingdom (Mahajanapada), located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau (see Taxila) and on the Kabul River. Its main cities were Purushapura (modern Peshawar), literally meaning City of Man[1] and Takshashila (modern Taxila)."
And,
"The boundaries of Gandhara varied throughout history. Sometimes the Peshawar valley and Taxila were collectively referred to as Gandhara and sometimes the Swat valley (Sanskrit: Suvāstu) was also included. The heart of Gandhara, however, was always the Peshawar valley. The kingdom was ruled from capitals at Pushkalavati (Charsadda), Taxila, Purushapura (Peshawar) and in its final days from Udabhandapura (Hund) on the Indus. According to the Puranas, they were named[clarification needed] after Taksha and Pushkara, the two sons of Bharata, a king of Ayodhya."
and finally:
"The Kingdom of Gandhara lasted from early 1st millennium BC to the 11th century AD. It attained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century under the Buddhist Kushan Kings. The Hindu Shahi, a term used by history writer Al-Biruni[3] to refer to the ruling Hindu dynasty[4] that took over from the Turki Shahi and ruled the region during the period prior to Muslim conquests of the 10th and 11th centuries. After it was conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1021 CE, the name Gandhara disappeared. During the Muslim period the area was administered from Lahore or from Kabul. During Mughal times the area was part of Kabul province."
Now please tell me except the destroyer of Gandhara i.e Mehmood of Gazni where does Afghanistan figure. But of course many afghans are living in Ghandara as refuges who came here not on our invitation & neither did the Russians, Americans, or Osama in your country.
You have been plundering Punjab and beyond (from where the Mohajirs came) since Mehmood to Ahmed Shah now you are doing it to yourself.
Peace,
Hasan Hakeem,
While I fully agree with you that that afghani up there is nutty and suffers from myopia, please don't quote the wikipedia page on Gandahara. Most pages pertaining to pre-Islamic Pakistani history (including the one about Gandahara) have been invaded by Indo-centrists who alter history to try and give it an indian perspective. Gandahara belonged to Bactrian, not Indian civilization. Here is a link that seems to have survived indian and indo-centrist infiltration. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hariti
And in the Tochi valley of Pakistani Pakhtunkhwa, inscriptions of the Bactrian language have been found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tochi_Valley
Pakistan west of the river is culturally and ethno-linguistically iranic, and not in anyway indian.
I agree. Though we are a splendid mix of races that has evolved as a nation through vivid social exchange with surrounding civilizations during our 7000 years long history, our cultural history is more closer to Central Asia than India. One should refer to (late) Professor Ahmad Hasan Dani's work for deeper understanding of the issue. He is considered world's foremost authority on Gandhara and Indus Valley Civilization. It is sad that 'Indo-centrist infiltration' which is now powered by the Bollywood is trying to rewrite history to advance its quest to hegemony over the region.
I strongly agree with you.
I am from NY but am living in Pakistan for a year...and have traveled all over the country exploring the Gandaharan art/artifacts and history of Pakistan. Amazing beauty, amazing history. We need to insure that not only the artifacts which are housed within museum walls are enjoyed and seen in such an exhibit as this one, but also to preserve the existing locations where these artifacts originated. Proper preservation/protection of historic sites within Pakistan could benefit from global support.
I am from NY but am living in Pakistan for a year...and have traveled all over the country exploring the Gandaharan art/artifacts and history of Pakistan. Amazing beauty, amazing history. We need to insure that not only the artifacts which are housed within museum walls are enjoyed and seen in such an exhibit as this one, but also to preserve the existing locations where these artifacts originated. Proper preservation/protection of historic sites within Pakistan is could benefit from global support.
I am looking forward to visiting this exhibition. I am dismayed however, that the Asia Society continues to use the hypocritical and politically correct "BCE/CE" dating system. I haver been a Member since the late 1980's and the Society has used this system only for ther past few years. It smacks of a politically correct agenda. To whom is this "Common Era" "common"? Not to Hindus, Buddhists or Muslims or other cultures and religious groups who make up a majority of the world's population and whose cultures are the focus of the Society. It is a completely phony concept, and of no historiographic value.
It is to hoped that the Board scraps this dating system; it does no credit to the Asia Society.
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