Antiquity · Rijksmuseum · 200106513
Head of the Buddha
anonymous, Gandhara, 300 - 399
Rijksmuseum · Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam · AK-MAK-1231 · Public Domain · Bruikleen van de Koninklijke Vereniging van Vrienden der Aziatische Kunst (aankoop Benjamin J. Stein, 1974) · Public domain
- Artist
- anonymous, Gandhara
- Date
- 300 - 399
- Medium
- slate
- Dimensions
- width 15 cm × depth 11.8 cm × height 24 cm
- Era
- Antiquity
Why it matters
The protuberance or topknot on the head (ushnisha) and the raised spot on the forehead (urna) are standard features of the Buddha. The wavy air combed back from the face is characteristic of Buddha figures from Gandhara. It was only during the early decades of the 1st century AD that the first Buddha images began to appear.