Buddha head. India, 19th century. Carved stone.

Buddha's head. India, 19th century.
Carved stone.
Measurements: 15 x 9 x 8 cm.
Head of Buddha in carved stone, possibly belonging to the Gandhara culture, identified by several lakshana or specific symbolic signs of the plastic representation of buddhas and bodhisattvas: elongated lobes of the ears, symbol of greatness, nobility and wisdom; rolled-up eyelids, symbol of spiritual concentration and also of purity, for its similarity with the petals of the lotus and serene face, of sketched smile, that symbolises the balance and the serenity of a perfect being.
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, and remained 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, a syncretism between Greek culture and Buddhism, developed in Gandhara.