GANDHARA OR CENTRAL ASIA, CIRCA 3RD CENTURY

This silver bowl formally and iconographically relates to schist palettes, sometimes referred to as 'cosmetic trays' although the use is inconclusive, that draw on imagery of the Hellenistic world. The subjects are often freely interpreted or somewhat misunderstood, the trident in this case being the attribute of Poseidon. The fluid Indianized style of 'drawing' on the reverse is remarkable, indicative of an amalgamation of styles; compare a palette in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, with a figure riding a similar sea monster, in H.-P. Francfort, Les Palettes du Gandhara, 1979, pl. XXVII, cat. no. 53; and two silver repoussé roundels with elephants transporting Buddha's relics in the British Museum, from the Oxus treasure, see S. Czuma, Kushan Sculpture, Images from Early India, 1985, cat. no. 73 A,B, both among the very few other examples of silver ware in the Gandharan context.