GANDHARA ART ~ TERRACOTTA STATUE OF HERACLES

A monumental Heracles terracotta statue. Ancient region of  Gandhara, 4th- 5th c. CE. Its height is 91cm, without the base.

This almost life-size Kushan period Gandharan statue depicts Heracles seated in royal ease. He shows an expressive, dominating face with bulging eyes, vividly curled hair and long beard. During the Kushan period, this type of bearded head was used for several male deities or heroes. such as Atlas or Dionysos and rarely, as in our example, for Heracles. Apart from a loincloth Heracles is naked, as is the small female human figure next to him, who is holding a loincloth up to cover her lower body.

The Kingdom of Gandhara stretched across parts of present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. Gandhara is noted for its distinctive style in Buddhist art,which  flourished and achieved its peak during the Kushan period, from the 1st to the 5th century. In the first century CE, Gandhara was the birthplace of  the earliest Buddhist images.

 Fired clay was an expensive material in the area, because the wood needed for the firing process was scarce. Therefore, such an expensive sculpture would have been a highly meritorious Buddhist offering. Only very few terracotta statues from this period and size have ever been recorded.

Source: Gallery Zacke