Head of Buddha or Bodhisattva

Use full screen for better viewing.

Head of Buddha or Bodhisattva

Description

Although the complete sculpture is now lost, the facial features, wavy hair, and mustache of this head, as well as the gray stone, help to identify this sculpture as a Gandharan work. A specific element that confirms its identification as a bodhisattva is the elaborate turban the figure wears, matching a particular style also seen in other Gandharan bodhisattva images. In the Gandharan style the bodhisattva's prominent mustache was a regular feature; but in the bodhisattva imagery of later centuries it disappeared as these deities came to be represented in more feminine forms.