Artist: unknown
Title: Buddha, seated, displaying a Gandharan variant of the dharmacakramudra
Material: grey schist
Site: Loriyan Tangai, Gandhara, Pakistan
Current Location: Indian Museum, Calcutta, India
Period/Date: Kushana period (ca. 200 C.E.)
Iconography/Iconology: The seated teaching Buddhas of this type are probably images of Amitabha Buddha, the Buddha of the Western Paradise, Sukhavati, whose cult was very prominant in Gandhara. Older identifications of these figures as Sakyamuni in dharmacakramudra do not take into account that no verified image of Sakyamuni has ever appeared on a lotus in Gandharan sculpture.
Stylistic Comments: A product of western Asiatic Hellanism, much has been made of the "Greek" influence on the style. However, it is a very distinct, local style, based more in the Parthian and eastern Roman traditions than in a strictly "Greek" convention. The characteristics are the relative naturalism of the folds of the drapery, realistic proportions of the body, and the apparent realism of gestures and positions. The very smooth, mask-like appearance of the face is, again, derived from the text-based description of the perfection of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Gandharan sculpture, in particular, very naturalistic representations of lay persons exist in considerable number.
