Figure, of the Buddha

This figure of the Buddha dates from the 2nd or 3rd century. It was found near the Khyber Pass. It is carved in grey hornblende schist.

The figure is seated cross-legged in an attitude of meditation (dhyana). Behind the head is a nimbus, a feature probably adopted from the ancient Middle East. The Buddha wears a flowing monastic robe without any adornments. His face is full of otherworldly concentration. On his forehead, a distinctive mole becomes known as one of the Buddha's characteristics in Gandharan iconography. His hair is gathered into a top knot, the ushnisha. This is a symbolic reminder that the Buddha came from a warrior background and warriors of his lineage did not cut their hair. The Buddha sits on a low base. On the front of this, a figural group consists of a Buddha and Bodhisattva, with four worshippers flanking them. A lion supports the base at either end.

The Buddha is a historical figure who lived in India around the late 6th or early 5th century BC. Originally, a young chieftain of the name of Siddhartha, he abandoned his privileged life and his family to seek enlightenment. Early Buddhism was a missionary religion and the Buddha's followers spread his teaching throughout India and beyond to China, Korea, Japan and south-east Asia. In the earliest Buddhist art, the Buddha was represented only by symbols. It was only in the first or second centuries AD, probably due to doctrinal changes, that the first Buddhas were carved, both in Mathura (south-east of Delhi) and the Gandhara region of north-western India (modern Pakistan).

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