Kanishka Ruled Over the Golden Age of Buddhist Art
FRIDAY TIMES
By Salma Mahmud
PAKISTAN - Kanishka. His name means 'King' or 'The Lord's Name', and indeed this suits Kanishka of Gandhara, he of the shining, wide-open moon eyes, and the piercing glances (1st century AD). He was a ruler who, according to Arnold Toynbee, established a 'universal empire.' Kanishka personally embraced both Buddhism and the Persian cult of the sun god Mithra, which simply pinpoints the universality of his personality. There is no doubt that the Kushan era was the Golden Age of Buddhist art, and under Kanishka, Gandhara became a holy land, a jewel of Buddhist civilization. Its art included the earliest known oil paintings, and the first sculptural depictions of Bodhisatwas and the Buddha himself. Gandhara artists sculpted and painted the Buddha in realistic detail, with a serene face, hands posed in symbolic gestures. To describe the beautiful coinage of Kanishka (above) is a story unto itself, and many of these coins carry images of the ruler. [link]
By Salma Mahmud
PAKISTAN - Kanishka. His name means 'King' or 'The Lord's Name', and indeed this suits Kanishka of Gandhara, he of the shining, wide-open moon eyes, and the piercing glances (1st century AD). He was a ruler who, according to Arnold Toynbee, established a 'universal empire.' Kanishka personally embraced both Buddhism and the Persian cult of the sun god Mithra, which simply pinpoints the universality of his personality. There is no doubt that the Kushan era was the Golden Age of Buddhist art, and under Kanishka, Gandhara became a holy land, a jewel of Buddhist civilization. Its art included the earliest known oil paintings, and the first sculptural depictions of Bodhisatwas and the Buddha himself. Gandhara artists sculpted and painted the Buddha in realistic detail, with a serene face, hands posed in symbolic gestures. To describe the beautiful coinage of Kanishka (above) is a story unto itself, and many of these coins carry images of the ruler. [link]
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