Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Room 12 | India 2500 BC-AD 600 gallery

Explore the early development of Indian art, from the artefacts of the Indus Valley to the Hindu and Buddhist sculpture of north India and Gandhara.

Early India gallery main image

Bactria and Gandhara, 200 BC-AD 100

Alexander the Great had led his army to the Indus River in 327 BC. A legacy of this brief invasion was the Greek kingdom of Bactria and the later Indo-Greek kingdoms in what are now Afghanistan and Pakistan. Hellenistic and Roman influences, brought by trading contacts, remained strong in these regions for several centuries, and local artists continued to interpret classical themes and styles.

Hip herm of Silenus or a satyr holding a cornucopia (EA1994.47) Hip herm of Silenus or a satyr holding a cornucopia (EA1994.47)   Head of Medusa (EA1993.19) Head of Medusa (EA1993.19)   Furniture fitting in the form of a maenad (EA1994.58) Furniture fitting in the form of a maenad (EA1994.58)   Figure of the hero god Heracles with his club seated on a lion (EA1999.31) Figure of the hero god Heracles with his club seated on a lion (EA1999.31)
Figure of a bull (EA1993.21) Figure of a bull (EA1993.21)   Ring with bust figure holding a wine cup (EA1996.103) Ring with bust figure holding a wine cup (EA1996.103)   Gold earrings with lapis lazuli, ivory, and quartz pendants (EA1995.162) Gold earrings with lapis lazuli, ivory, and quartz pendants (EA1995.162)
Gold earring (EA1996.88) Gold earring (EA1996.88)   Sphinx-like figure from a terminal (EA1995.4) Sphinx-like figure from a terminal (EA1995.4)   Fragment of a roundel with female figure (EA1996.91) Fragment of a roundel with female figure (EA1996.91)   Lid or palette with the drunken Heracles supported by two female attendants (EA1993.24) Lid or palette with the drunken Heracles supported by two female attendants (EA1993.24)
Palette with Nereids, or sea nymphs, riding ketoi, or sea monsters (EA1996.82) Palette with Nereids, or sea nymphs, riding ketoi, or sea monsters (EA1996.82)   Roundel with a lady at her toilet (EA1997.24) Roundel with a lady at her toilet (EA1997.24)   Roundel with the goddess Hariti (EA1997.202) Roundel with the goddess Hariti (EA1997.202)
Bactrian Greek tax receipt (EA1994.79) Bactrian Greek tax receipt (EA1994.79)
Rhyton in the form of a centaur (EA1963.28) Rhyton in the form of a centaur (EA1963.28)
Notice

Objects may have since been removed or replaced from a gallery. Click into an individual object record to confirm whether or not an object is currently on display. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis, so contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular Eastern Art object.

© 2013 University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum