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This beautiful gold and agate bead necklace was
made and worn around two thousand years ago
in the ancient kingdom of Majajanapada, better
known as Gandhara. Situated on the border
between what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan,
the kingdom contained several notable cities
that
flourished between the 6th century BC and the
11th century AD. It saw enormous changes with
the flow and ebb of contemporary superpowers.
It also became a centre of learning (notably with
the invention of the Kharosti alphabet) and of
religious pilgrimage, as this is where the holy
scriptures of Buddha were kept. Under the rule
of
Cyrus the Great, spreading from Greece across
huge swathes of Central Asia. After his unifying
rule, Gandhara became part of the Achaemenian
(Persian) empire, leading to a series of power
struggles that ended with the crushing of native
armies by Alexander the Great in 327 BC. This
was followed by the attack by Demetrius of
Bactria, and while the area was Graeco-Bactrian
for some time, it eventually gained independence
under King Menander in the mid 2nd century BC.
The final effects of Greek colonialism were
eroded by about 50 BC under a fierce campaign
headed by the Parthians. While catastrophic to
social order at the time, the cultural diversity of
the region was greatly enhanced by the
appearance of the Greeks, especially in terms of
artistic production. Even after the Greeks had
gone, their bequest remained in the aesthetic
sense that makes Gandharan art unique. The
golden period of Gandharan art falls in about
100-200 AD with the arrival of the Kushans, a
Central Asian group under whose governorship
the arts and sciences flourished as never before.
The cocktail of different cultures saw a
completely unique set of architectural and
artistic traditions. Their greatest monarch,
Kanishka, encouraged the arts, and under his
reign totally new conventions were to develop
including the earliest depictions of the Buddha in
human form. The cultural syncretism between
eastern themes and western styles has become
known as Graeco-Buddhism, and is one of the
most remarkable – and successful – examples of
cultural fusion in history. Everything from
architecture to sculpture, coinage and even
jewellery developed in new and extraordinary
ways, as in the current case. Myths and figures
from Greek mythology – such as Atlas, or
Dionysus – are also found in some friezes and
paintings. The Buddhas resemble Greek kings in
ersatz togas, sitting in houses influenced by the
Corinthian model. It should be noted that the
Gandharan sophistication was subsequently lost
in some respects, as figurative art became less
and less realistic, and more symbolic/decorative
as time passed. Bodhisattvas and other religious
figures are often depicted with startling realism,
bare-chested Indian princes adorned with
jewellery such as this.
And it is certainly fit for a king.
In terms of personal adornment, items such as
this would have been excessively rare, even at
the time they were made. There are nine large
gold foil beads, surrounded by 36 smaller agate
beads. The main beads are
carefully worked in what approaches filigree
detail, with hundreds of tiny cone-shaped
appliqué fragments minutely attached to the
unadorned body using gold soldering. The effect
is a perfect, spiky sphere made up of
components so tiny it requires a magnifying
glass to see them clearly. The nature of the
construction can be seen in cross section at the
piercings used for the cord. The number of hours
represented by these pieces is staggering, as is
the fact that they have survived around 2000
years virtually unaffected. The Barakat gallery
possesses a number of Gandharan heads and
sculptures that are wearing pieces that closely
resemble these. The beads that space them are
agate, designed like tiny circular mosaics
to highlight the flamboyant yet delicate beauty of
their gold counterparts. Items such as this are
extremely rare, as they are usually so badly
damaged as to be unrecognisable. Similar
specimens have been recovered in Greece,
Georgia and Iran, but rarely in such good
condition. It is exceedingly unlikely that a
necklace of this quality, and in this condition,
will ever find its way on to the market again. This
truly is a wearable, regal, unique masterwork.
- (AM.0125)
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