Mostly fakes. Stelae representing Bodhisattvas from a collection of confiscated Gandharan material

Authors

  • Tahir Saeed Deputy Director, Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Pakistan.
  • Arshad Ullah Assistant Director, Department of Archaeology and Museums, Government of Pakistan.

Keywords:

Gandhara, looting, forgeries, Bodhisattva

Abstract

This article presents some previously unpublished Gandharan pieces depicting Bodhisattvas from a collection of material confiscated by the Department of Archaeology and Museums in Islamabad in collaboration with the Customs of Pakistan, Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation-FBR-Regional Office, Sukkur. The confiscated material comprises more than eleven hundred cultural items, including painted ceramics from Balochistan, ceramics from the Islamic period, glazed tiles, detached Buddha heads, statues of Buddhas in different postures and in different media (schist, stucco, terracotta, and bronze), and other Gandharan objects (friezes, panels, stupa models, relic caskets). Some pieces, including some of those presented in this article, are fakes. The article also contains a brief note on the ethical issues related to these materials, and a possible dating and provenance of the few authentic pieces.

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Published

18.12.2023

How to Cite

Saeed , T. ., & Ullah, A. . (2023). Mostly fakes. Stelae representing Bodhisattvas from a collection of confiscated Gandharan material . Journal of Asian Civilizations, 46(1), 15–28. Retrieved from http://jac.qau.edu.pk/index.php/jac/article/view/185