Toward Materiality and Globalization in the Art of Gandhara

Abstract

To better understand and more effectively address the complexity of the art of Gandhara, its development out of cross-cultural encounters
and exchanges, and the multivalent meanings that emerged out of the varied processes of its production and use, two analytical frameworks
can be usefully employed: materiality and globalization. The conjunction of these approaches holds tremendous potential for the field of Gandharan art and archaeology. This also moves scholarship away from reductive Hellenizing discourses towards ideas, that focus on the effects of the complex connectivity and mobility in lands associated with this art. Beginning with a brief historiographical review and critique of the formative narratives on Gandharan art, this paper goes on to discuss the concepts of materiality and globalization, their respective scope and implications, and how they can be applied (individually and collectively) to Gandharan art.