The Global Connections of Gandharan Art

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Gandharan art is often regarded as the epitome of cultural exchange in antiquity. The ancient region of Gandhara, centred on what is now the northern tip of Pakistan, has been called the ¿crossroads of Asia¿. The Buddhist art produced in and around this area in the first few centuries AD exhibits extraordinary connections with other traditions across Asia and as far as the Mediterranean. Since the nineteenth century, the Graeco-Roman associations of Gandharan art have attracted particular attention. Classically educated soldiers and administrators of that era were astonished by the uncanny resemblance of many works of Gandharan sculpture to Greek and Roman art made thousands of miles to the west. More than a century later we can recognize that the Gandharan artists¿ appropriation of classical iconography and styles was diverse and extensive, but the explanation of this ¿influence¿ remains puzzling and elusive. The Gandhara Connections project at the University of Oxford¿s Classical Art