Ca. 100-300 AD. Gandharan. A schist stone panel of a Buddha flanked by two Bodhisattvas. Each has a large circular halo behind his head. The central Buddha sits cross legged atop a lotus throne. The lotus was a beautiful flower that bloomed in harsh conditions, rising above the swampy water beneath it, and so it came to represent the act of rising above worldly concerns and pollution. Bodhisatvas were people on the path to enlightenment and Buddhahood. All the figures are depicted with elegantly draped robes. The Buddha form was used to depict both the original Buddha Gautama as well as anyone who became a Buddha by achieving Nirvana. The Buddha was not expressed in sculpture in Gandhara before the 1st century AD, before which he was only alluded to with symbols. From this time though, Gandharan art depicted Buddhas with a captivating mix of traditional Buddhist iconography and style, and the naturalism and soft features of Classical art, since this region was greatly influenced by the conquests of Alexander the Great many centuries earlier and the subsequent Greek settlers. For more information on Gandharan art, see Jongeward, D. (2019). Buddhist Art Of Gandhara in the Ashmolean Museum. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Size: L:230mm / W:260mm ; 3.8kg. Provenance: From the collection of a London gentleman; formerly acquired in early 2000s in Belgium; previously in 1970s European collection.