Gandhara, the ancient name for the region around modern Peshawar in
northern Pakistan, was of pivotal importance in the production of
Buddhist texts and art in the first centuries CE. Since the
mid-nineteenth century, excavations of Gandharan monastery sites
have revolutionized the study of early Buddhism. Among the
treasures unearthed are hundreds of reliquaries--containers housing
relics of the Buddha.
This volume combines art history, Buddhist history, ancient
Indian history, archaeology, epigraphy, linguistics, and
numismatics to clarify the significance and function of these
reliquaries. The story begins with the Buddha's last days, his
death and funerary arrangements, and the distribution of the
cremated remains, which initiated a relic cult. Chapters describe
Gandharan reliquary types and subgroups, the archaeological and
historical significance of collections, and the paleographic and
linguistic interpretation of the inscriptions on the
reliquaries.
The 400 reliquaries illustrated and surveyed are from museums
and private collections in Pakistan, India, Japan, Europe, and
North America. Stone is the primary material of construction, along
with bronze, gold, and silver. Shapes range from spherical and
cylindrical to miniature stupas, a configuration that provides
valuable information about the history of this Buddhist monumental
form.
David Jongeward is a visiting scholar at the Asian Institute,
Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. Elizabeth
Errington is curator of the Charles Masson Project, British Museum
Department of Coins and Medals. Richard Salomon is professor of
Asian languages and literature at the University of Washington.
Stefan Baums is assistant adjunct professor of South and Southeast
Asian studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and a
research fellow at the School of Asian Studies, Leiden
University.
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