Buddhist Art and the Roman Empire

Doug Buddhism, History November 7, 2021November 5, 2021 1 Minute

I saw this interesting post recently on Twitter and wanted to share:

3rd-c funerary head from Palmyra, Syria, a city in E Roman empire (via @chapps) & head of a 5th-c giant Buddha at Yungang, N China. Their similarities are not accidental. Palmyra artisans worked on Buddhist art in Gandhara, from where their style was further brought to China. pic.twitter.com/Xyirzb2Ybw
— Jin Xu 徐津 (@xujnx) October 16, 2021

This means that some of the earliest Buddhist statuary was forged by early Roman citizens, more specifically Syrian artists.

Fascinating how connected the ancient world was with one another.

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Published by Doug

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Published November 7, 2021November 5, 2021

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