Buddha. India or Gandhara, probably 19th century. Carved stone.

Buddha. India or Gandhara, probably 19th century.
Carved stone.
Measurements: 15 x 9 x 7 cm.
Carved stone head, probably from India or Gandhara due to its physical and stylistic characteristics. Each of its attributes explicitly identifies Sidharta Gautama: the prolonged lobes of the ears symbolise wisdom as well as his aristocratic class origin. The hairstyle, topped with a bun, alludes in its form to a pagoda or temple. Its symmetrical, stylised features convey serenity and asceticism. The smoothness of the bronze flesh tones contrasts with the roughness of the hairstyle. Each of these features in the representation of the Buddha is called "lakshanas". The elongated earlobes allude to the large earrings worn by members of the upper classes in India contemporary to Sakyamuni, and represent the concepts of greatness, nobility and wisdom.
The historical region of Gandhara, which corresponds to southeastern present-day Afghanistan, central and northern Pakistan, and northwestern India, was a satrapy of the Achaemenid Persian Empire from the 6th century BC, conquered by Alexander the Great, remaining Hellenistic with the Greco-Hindu rulers, until it was annexed to the Kushana Empire (1st-3rd centuries AD). The Kushans adopted many elements of Hellenistic culture, adapting the Greek alphabet, etc. to their language. It is because of these historical circumstances that Greco-Buddhist art developed in Gandhara, a syncretism between Greek culture and Buddhism.