Gardners Art through the Ages A Global History

air, is familiar in Roman art of the second and third centuries CE

(FIGS. 10-65and 10-70). The figure of the Buddha on his deathbed

finds parallels in the reclining figures on the lids of Roman sar-

cophagi (FIG. 10-61). The type of hierarchical composition in which

a large central figure sits between balanced tiers of smaller onlookers

is also common in Roman imperial art (FIG. 10-76).

MATHURA Contemporary to but stylistically distinct from the

Gandharan sculptures are the Buddha images of Mathura, a city about

90 miles south of Delhi that was also part of the Kushan Empire. The

Mathura statues (for example,FIG. 6-12) are more closely linked to

the Indian portrayals ofyakshas,the male equivalents of the yakshis.

Indian artists represented yakshas as robust, powerful males with broad

shoulders and open, staring eyes. Mathura Buddhas, carved from red

sandstone like the Harappa nude male (FIG. 6-4), retain these charac-

teristics but wear a monk’s robe (with right shoulder bare) and lack the

jewelry and other signs of wealth of the yakshas. The robe appears al-

most transparent, revealing the full, fleshy body beneath. In FIG. 6-12,

the Buddha sits in a yogic posture on a lion throne under the Bodhi

tree, attended by fly-whisk bearers. He raises his right hand palm out-

ward in the abhaya gesture, indicating to worshipers that they need

have no fear. His hands and feet bear the mark of the Wheel of the Law.

The Gupta and Post-Gupta Periods

Around 320* a new empire arose in north-central India. The Gupta

emperors chose Pataliputra as their capital, deliberately associating

themselves with the prestige of the former Maurya Empire. The hey-

day of this dynasty was under Chandragupta II (r. 375–415), whose

very name recalled the first Maurya emperor. The Guptas were great

patrons of art and literature.

SARNATHUnder the Guptas, artists formulated what became the

canonical image of the Buddha, combining the Gandharan monastic

robe covering both shoulders with the Mathuran tradition of soft, full-

bodied Buddha figures dressed in clinging garments. These disparate

styles beautifully merge in a fifth-century statue (FIG. 6-13) of the

Buddha from Sarnath. The statue’s smooth, unadorned surfaces con-

form to the Indian notion of perfect body form and emphasize the

figure’s spirituality. The Buddha’s eyes are downcast in meditation, and

he holds his hands in front of his body in the Wheel-turning gesture,

preaching his first sermon. Below the Buddha is a scene with the Wheel

of the Law at the center between two (now partially broken) deer sym-

166 Chapter 6 SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA BEFORE 1200

6-12Buddha seated on lion throne, from Mathura, India, second

century ce.Red sandstone, 2 31 – 2 high. Archaeological Museum, Muttra.

Stylistically distinct from the Gandharan Buddhas are those of Mathura,

where the Buddha has the body type of a yaksha but wears a monk’s

robe. This example depicts the Buddha under the Bodhi tree.

6-13Seated Buddha preaching first sermon, from Sarnath, India,

second half of fifth century. Tan sandstone, 5 3 high. Archaeological

Museum, Sarnath.

Under the Guptas, artists formulated the canonical image of the

Buddha, combining the Gandharan monastic-robe type with the

Mathuran type of soft, full-bodied figure attired in clinging garments.

*From this point on, all dates in this chapter are CEunless otherwise stated.

1 ft.

1 in.