Maitreya in Gandhara
My research on the depictions of the Bodhisattva Maitreya in Gandharan art, and during the Kushana period in general, was taken up in October 2000. I had worked on this topic with Prof Maurizio Taddei at an early stage of my studies, and his untimely death in February 2000 urged me to continue this work. Although frequently discussed, relatively little precise information can be found on the role of Maitreya in Gandhara. Considered as part of the general development towards Mahāyāna Buddhism, even the scarce information available provides a differentiated background for the Gandharan iconography of this Bodhisattva.
Considerable progress was made during a one-year fellowship at the Lumbini International Research Institute (LIRI), which also enabled me to co-curate the exhibition “Gandhara — The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan” at the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn (opened 20 November 2008). Nevertheless, the project so far resulted in a range of separate articles.
Related Publications
- With Paul Harrison. “New Light on (and from) the Muhammad Nari Stele.” In 2011 nendo dai ikkai kokusai shinpōjiumu purshīdingusu: Jōdokō ni kansuru tokubetsu kokusai shinpōjiumu, BARC International Symposium Series 1. Kyoto: Ryukoku University Research Center for Buddhist Cultures in Asia, 2012: 69–127 [plates 197–207]. (Also published in Japanese in the same volume.)
- “The Buddha Beyond. Figuration in Gandharan Cult Imagery.” In Nepalica-Tibetica. Festgabe für Christoph Cüppers, edited by Franz-Karl Ehrhard and Petra Maurer. Beiträge zur Zentralasienforschung, 28, 2. Andiast: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, 2013: vol. 2, 1–21.
- “The Diffusion of Gandharan and Indian Models in South Asia.” In Art et civilisation de l’orient hellénisé: Rencontres et échanges culturels d’Alexandre aux Sassanides, edited by Pierre Leriche. Paris: Éditions A&J Picard, 2014: 245–50.
- “The Bodhisattva and the Future Buddha Maitreya.” In The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan. Art of Gandhara, edited by Adriana Proser. New York: Asia Society Museum, 2011: 59–64.
- “The Bodhisattva and the Future Buddha Maitreya.” In Gandhara — The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan. Legends, Monasteries and Paradise, Mainz/Bonn: Zabern/Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der BRD, 2008: 249–53.
- “The Bodhisattva with the Flask in Gandhāran Narrative Scenes.” East and West 55, no. 1–4 (2005): 163–88. (Dedicated to Maurizio Taddei.)
Relevant Publications
- “The Diffusion of Gandharan and Indian Models in South Asia.” In Art et civilisation de l’orient hellénisé: Rencontres et échanges culturels d’Alexandre aux Sassanides, edited by Pierre Leriche. Paris: Éditions A&J Picard, 2014: 245–50.
- “The Buddha Beyond. Figuration in Gandharan Cult Imagery.” In Nepalica-Tibetica. Festgabe für Christoph Cüppers, edited by Franz-Karl Ehrhard and Petra Maurer. Beiträge zur Zentralasienforschung, 28, 2. Andiast: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, 2013: vol. 2, 1–21.
- With Paul Harrison. “New Light on (and from) the Muhammad Nari Stele.” In 2011 nendo dai ikkai kokusai shinpōjiumu purshīdingusu: Jōdokō ni kansuru tokubetsu kokusai shinpōjiumu, BARC International Symposium Series 1. Kyoto: Ryukoku University Research Center for Buddhist Cultures in Asia, 2012: 69–127 [plates 197–207]. (Also published in Japanese in the same volume.)
- “The Bodhisattva and the Future Buddha Maitreya.” In The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan. Art of Gandhara, edited by Adriana Proser. New York: Asia Society Museum, 2011: 59–64.
- “The Bodhisattva and the Future Buddha Maitreya.” In Gandhara — The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan. Legends, Monasteries and Paradise. Mainz/Bonn: Zabern/Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der BRD, 2008: 249–53.
- “The Bodhisattva with the Flask in Gandhāran Narrative Scenes.” East and West 55, no. 1–4 (2005): 163–88. (Dedicated to Maurizio Taddei.)