In Memoriam (2000-2025) A Problematical Toilet-tray from Uḍegrām

Abstract

The so-called “toilet trays” are particularly important for the genesis of Gandharan figurative art. These objects are characterized by a figurative part and concave divisions. These small plates, most probably “libation trays” (Falk 2010), are associated to urban contexts dated from mid-1st century BCE to mid/end-1st century CE. After this date, their production ceased. This chronological limit is particularly important because it coincides with the end of the Saka-Parthian kingdoms and the beginning of control of the territory by the Kushana imperial power. H.-P. Francfort (1979) distinguished these trays into three main types: type A: “Hellenizing,” type B: “Parthian,” type C: “Indian,” or rather “Indo-Scythian” (Lo Muzio 2002, 2011, 2018). The tray presented in this article (type C) belongs to the latter category. Made of gray chlorite schist, it dates back to the 1st century BCE in Uḍegrām (UD 370). The plate has nine partitions, with the central square that features three male busts facing forward. In front of them hang what appear to be banquet tablecloths, but which Taddei interprets as lotus petals. Although dated sixty years ago, the article is an extraordinary gem of insight and acumen by Maurizio Taddei, who was always attentive to the archaeological context and Eurasian models with an eclectic and disciplined eye, but above all gifted with a visual memory for ancient art in general (not only Gandharan or Indian) with expertise that fully encompassed 14th-century Tuscany. [LMO] 1