Head of the Buddha

Gandharan, 4th-5th century

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Gandharan

Head of the Buddha

Gandharan

Head of the Buddha

Gandharan, 4th-5th century

Physical Qualities Stucco, 8 7/16 H in. (21.5 cm.) (without base); Weight: 5 lbs. (with base)

Credit Line Gift of Saidie A. May

Object Number 1932.56.7

The elongated, heart-shaped face and sharply defined features--especially the arched brows and straight nose--of this Buddha resemble ancient Greek and Roman statues. Gandhara, located in present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, was the easternmost point of Alexander the Great's 3rd century BCE military campaign into Asia and was influenced by ancient Mediterranean artistic traditions. As Buddhism moved west beyond India and Nepal in the 3rd to 1st century BCE, Gandharan artists provided some of the earliest images of the Buddha.

The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1932; Saidie A. May

The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Saidie A. May Collection," September 6-November 22, 1972.
Collection installation, "Asia. Exchange across Land & Sea," Levy Gallery, Baltimore Museum of Art, October 5, 2023-

"Saidie A. May Collection," Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1972, p. 43, ill.