Save the Date:
Problems of Chronology in Gandharan Art,
23-24 March 2017
This first Gandhara Connections international workshop, generously supported by
the Bagri Foundation, will take place in Oxford.
The Gandhara Connections project identifies chronology and dating as one
of the key problems outstanding in the study of Gandharan art. Chronology is
not only fundamental for establishing the nature of Gandharan art's connections
with the traditions of Greece and Rome, but also for any other systematic
attempt to put it in context or explain its development.
In recent decades there have been some huge strides in understanding the
chronology of Gandharan art, including invaluable results from excavations in
the Swat Valley and a growing consensus about the second-century date of the
Kushan ruler Kanishka and the era that he founded. However, considerable
obstacles remain as a result of various factors. For example, only a portion of
the thousands of Gandharan sculptures that survive come from published
archaeological excavations and looting remains a big problem. Many Gandharan
Buddhist sites had long lives which resulted the fascinating but confusing
re-use of architectural sculpture in antiquity. There is no clear or agreed
understanding about how the styles of Gandharan art changed through time, and
indeed a better knowledge of dating is required to improve that understanding.
We have very few inscribed artefacts which would help us to establish fixed
dates, and the interpretation even of the most valuable Kushan inscriptions i s
sometimes still subject to debate. Finally, there are open questions about how
long the Gandharan tradition continued, and consequently what its relationship
is with the post-Kushan art of Central Asia. Above all, perhaps, there is
further scope for understanding the art-historical implications of asking such
questions.
By pooling the most recent knowledge and critical thinking across the
disciplines of archaeology, art and architectural history, epigraphy,
linguistic studies and numismatics, there is the potential to move the debate
forward decisively. The aim of this first international workshop in the
Gandhara Connections project is to facilitate such an exchange of ideas and
information. The proceedings of the workshop will be published in an open
access, online book and we aim to make a recording of the event itself
available online.
Further details will follow soon. The workshop will be
free, but it is necessary to book in advance by contacting:
carc@classics.ox.ac.uk<mailto:carc@classics.ox.ac.uk>
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Giles Richardson
Administrative Assistant, Classical Art Research Centre
University of Oxford
Ioannou Centre for Classical and Byzantine Studies
66 St Giles', Oxford, OX1 3LU
Tel: +44 (0)1865 278082
Fax: +44 (0)1865 610237
www.carc.ox.ac.uk; www.beazley.ox.ac.uk;
