LATE GANDHARAN BRONZE BUDDHA HEAD

400-500 AD. Late Gandharan. An excellent example of a Gandharan bronze head, originally part of a larger statue depicting Buddha with the characteristic snail-shell curls; heavy lidded eyes; thick, full lips, large ears and elongated earlobes. Gandhara was an ancient region in the Peshawar basin in the north-west of the ancient Indian subcontinent. The Kushan period of Gandharan art, to which this stupa example belongs, was the golden age of artistic production in the area. For further discussion on Gandharan art, see Jongeward, D. 2019, Buddhist Art Of Gandhara in the Ashmolean Museum. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Excellent condition. Provenance: Property of a London gallery, previously in old British collection formed in the 1980s. Size: L:36mm / W:35mm ; 130g