The Gandharan Kingdom lasted
from approximately 500 BC
until 600 AD. The Art
produced in this area of what
is now Afghanistan and
Pakistan is gaining
considerable respect and
popularity after many years.
When one talks of Gandharan
Art it is the art produced at
the height of the Kushan
period that immediately comes
to mind. The sculpture of
this period demonstrates
considerable Greek influence,
courtesy of the occupation of
Gandhara by Alexander the
Great and his Macedonian
generals, many of whom stayed
behind. Thus, Gandharan
artifacts of this period
demonstrate a bizarre but
beautiful combination of Greek
Hellenistic artistic style
with Native, Buddhist themes,
often carved in indigenous
gray schist-stone.
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