Amorini in context: A fresh study of their form and function in the collection of Lahore Museum

Abstract

This paper focuses on the Gandhara art collection of Lahore Museum and examines the motif of the amorini, its iconography and role in different sculptural contexts of Buddhist art and architecture. The paper first addresses the acquisitional history of the collection and then describes the figures of amorini and their mythical origins; thirdly, it discusses their functions and shows that they went beyond mere ornamentation. By comparing the Gandhāran amorini with coeval figures on Roman sarcophagi, this research seeks to fill a gap in current scholarship by interpreting the celestial figures of amorini as fundamental actors in funerary spaces and by highlighting their diverse role as adorants and offer-bearers in Buddhism. The study follows a qualitative research methodology and provides graphic documentation of selected artefacts from the Lahore collection. Altogether this paper aims to contribute to the present research on Gandhara school of art and how these mythological themes help us understand the adaptation and mixture of indigenous and foreign elements.