One theme, two sculptures and three possessions. Buddhist relief panels from Gandhāra representing Siddhārtha going to school.

Abstract

Two panels, one was in the Mardan Museum, Pakistan, and the other is presently in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, represent the same theme with the same general iconographic features and they are also identical in shape. The Mardan Museum sculpture remained on display for long time but since then has passed from sight, conversely, photographs of an identical panel have long been preserved in the archives of the Department of Archaeology, University of Peshawar. This article focuses on the whereabouts of these three objects, their acquisition history in addition to the reason for their iconographic similarities and other related facts such as the question of their authenticity.