SWAT VALLEY, CIRCA 7TH CENTURY

The present work is part of a relatively small corpus of Buddhist bronzes cast in the Swat Valley in the 7th through 10th centuries. The 6th century invasion of the nomadic Hunas into the Kabul Valley devastated the prosperous Buddhist monastic community in Gandhara, but Buddhism continued to thrive in the more remote Swat Valley until the 10th century. The current example demonstrates the ubiquity of the Gupta style, which by this time had almost completely replaced the earlier classical Gandharan style. While in the earlier period, Buddha was depicted wearing voluminous robes with asymmetrical drapery, by the 6th and 7th centuries the folds of the sanghati become more rhythmic and stylized. Similarly, the thick wavy locks of hair characteristic of the Gandharan period were replaced in the Gupta style with tight snailshell curls. The strongly waisted base with molded lotus petals, as found in the present work, is known only in Swat Valley bronzes from the 7th century onwards. The small size is typical for this period, and it was most likely meant to be portable. The destruction of the Buddhist monasteries of Gandhara, there was always the fear of further invasion. While not unknown, other gilt examples are extremely rare.