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Greco-Buddhist artistic influences naturally followed Buddhism in its expansion to Central and Eastern Asia from the 1st century BCE.
Greco-Buddhist art - Bactria
Bactria was under direct Greek control for more than two centuries from the conquests of Alexander the Great in 332 BCE to the end of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom around 125 BCE. The art of Bactria was almost perfectly Hellenistic as shown by the archaeological remains of Greco-Bactrian cities such as Alexandria on the Oxus (Ai-Khanoum), or the numismatic art of the Greco-Bactrian kings, often considered as the best of the Hellenistic world, and including the largest silver and gold coins ever minted by the Greeks.
When Buddhism expanded in Central Asia from the 1st century CE, Bactria saw the results of the Greco-Buddhist syncretism arrive on its territory from India, and a new blend of sculptural remained until the Islamic invasions.
The most striking of these realizations are the Buddhas of Bamiyan. They tend to vary between the 5th and the 9th century CE. Their style are strongly inspired by Hellenistic culture.
In another area of Bactria called Fondukistan, some Greco-Buddhist art survived until the 7th century in Buddhist monasteries, displaying a strong Hellenistic influence combined with Indian decorativeness and mannerism, and some influence by the Sasanid Persians.
Most of the remaining art of Bactria was destroyed from the 5th century onward: the Buddhist were often blamed for idolatry and tended to be persecuted by the iconoclastic Muslims. Destructions continued during the Afghanistan War, and especially by the Taliban regime in 2001. The most famous case is that of the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan. Ironically, most of the remaining art from Afghanistan is the one that was removed from the country during the Colonial period. In particular, a rich collection exists at the Musee Guimet in France.
Greco-Buddhist art - Tarim Basin
The art of the Tarim Basin, also called Serindian art, is the art that developed from the 2nd through the 11th century CE in Serindia or Xinjiang, the western region of China that forms part of Central Asia. It derives from the art of the Gandhara and clearly combines Indian traditions with Greek and Roman influences.
Buddhist missionaries travelling on the Silk Road introduced this art, along with Buddhism itself, into Serindia, where it mixed with Chinese and Persian influences.
See also: Silk Road transmission of Buddhism
Other related archives10 BCE, 120 BCE, 125 BCE, 130 BCE, 170 BCE, 171 BCE, 180 BCE, 1st century CE, 205, 250 BCE, 2nd century BCE, 30, 330 BCE, 332 BCE, 43 BCE,
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Greco-Buddhist art expansion in Central Asia", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page |
