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| GANDHARA – THE BUDDHIST HERITAGE OF PAKISTAN | |
Legends, Monasteries, and Paradise
21 November 2008 - 15 March 2009 at the Art and Exhibition Hall, Bonn
9 April – 10 August 2009 at the Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin
GANDHARA
Guided Tours
Catalogue
Reference Collection
Supporting Program (german)
Monumental stucco head of a Buddha
stupa, Jaulian, Taxila
Taxila Museum, Pakistan
The Buddhist art of Gandhara appears strangely familiar to the Western gaze; its rootedness in Western traditions is strikingly obvious. Gandhara is the name of a historical region in present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. At the time of its greatest expansion, its territories encompassed Bactria, the Hindu Kush and central northern India. Gandhara became known to a wider audience in March 2001, when the Taliban dynamited the Bamiyan Buddhas, the world’s biggest rock-cut Buddha statues.
Couple in front of a richly decorated
portal | grey schist
Swat Museum Saidu Sharif, Pakistan
Buddhism and a Crossroads of Cultures
Gandharan art is primarily Buddhist. First anthropomorphic depictions of the Buddha began to emerge in the 1st century AD; before that time the “Enlightened One” was represented by means of aniconic symbols alone.
The exhibition at the Art and Exhibition Hall brings to life the extraordinarily rich artistic heritage of the Gandhara region, a melting pot of many different cultures. The conquests of Alexander the Great had introduced Greek culture to the region, giving rise to an art that is profoundly marked by Greek and Roman influence. This fruitful cross-cultural exchange was facilitated by trade along the Silk Road which connected the Mediterranean and China and which was also instrumental in the spread of Buddhism beyond its native India.
Tour of the exhibition
The exhibition begins with the conquests of Alexander the Great and explores the development and spread of Gandharan culture across Afghanistan and Central Asia. Although Gandharan art features numerous Greek and Roman motifs, the vast majority of the works is rooted in Buddhism whose regional development is the focus of this exhibition.
'Aphrodite' with wings
leaned at column | Sirkap, Taxila
Gold repoussé | Nationalmuseum Pakistan
Lion from a Reliquiar
Dharmarājikā stupa, Taxila, crystal
Taxila Museum, Pakistan
further venue :
04/09/2009 – 08/10/2009
Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin 
09/06/2009 – 03/01/2010
Museum Rietberg, Zürich
The exhibition architecture is modelled on a Gandharan monastery court. A central stupa details the spiritual awakening of a Buddha in 36 reliefs. The rooms grouped around the stupa provide an insight into the cultural background and the architecture of Gandhara.
Architectural Motifs
One of the most fascinating aspects of Gandharan art is the espousal and adaptation of imported architectural motifs by an entirely different cultural and religious environment. Corner-posts, garland-holders, brackets and capitals are often decorated with figures or even executed in the shape of figures. Near-classical and modified Corinthian pilasters as well as Indian and so-called Persepolitan columns structure architectural decoration and act as scene dividers in carved reliefs. Cornices are decorated in myriad ways. Garlands, decorative bands and floral motifs swathe the building. Later monuments also feature series of arcades.
Religion and Luxury
The rich finds brought to light in excavations of ancient urban areas such as Bhir Mound and Sirkap in Taxila and Barikot in Swat attest to Gandhara’s far-reaching trade relations. The luxury goods shown in the exhibition reflect the flourishing economic and cultural exchange, as indeed does the religious imagery found on these items.
Many Gods, Many Cultures
Although Gandharan archaeological finds are predominantly Buddhist, the region was home to many deities. It was open to Western motifs and Western gods imported by the Greeks. The syncretic Kushan pantheon was inhabited by Zoroastrian and Hindu gods, and Gandharan Buddhism and Buddhist art successfully integrated a wide range of popular deities, most of them ambivalent nature spirits.
3D visualisation of Buddha sculptures
of Bamiyan, © RWTH Aachen (G. Toubekis)
Links
Gandhara, articel at
online encyclopedia wikipedia
Buddhas of Bamyan, articel at
online encyclopedia wikipedia
National Fund for Cultural
Heritage, official website of the
National Fund for Cultural heritage of
Pakistan
Exhibition curators
Christian Luczanits
Michael Jansen
Exhibition architecture
ACDC RWTH Aachen
Project management
Press officer
Press releases
friendly supported by:
A particular highlight of the exhibition is a 3D visualisation allowing visitors to explore the destroyed Buddha sculptures of Bamiyan.
The Art and Exhibition Hall has joined forces with the faculties of Computer Science/Telecommunications and Architecture of the Aachen Technical University (RWTH) in order to develop new forms of exhibition presentation. Thanks to a state-of-the-art 3D reconstruction the two dynamited Buddha sculptures of Bamiyan rise from the rubble. Over the last few years international experts have developed concepts for securing and safeguarding the remaining original fragments of the Bamiyan Buddhas. Recent laser technology has made it possible to map the geometry of the monuments. A three-dimensional stereo projection of the datasets and a pair of special glasses will give visitors a unique opportunity to experience these magnificent rock-hewn sculptures.
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