This exhibition displays Buddhist sculptures, architectural reliefs and works of gold and bronze from the Gandhara region of Pakistan, most never exhibited before in the United States. Complex cultural influences—from Scytho-Parthian to Greco-Roman traditions—fed the artistic production of this region from the first century BCE through fifth century C.E.

At its height, Gandhara—whose center was situated in present-day Peshawar in northwest Pakistan—encompassed Bamiyan in Afghanistan, Bactria, the Hindu Kush and the Punjab region of northwest India.

Buddhism reached Gandhara as early as the third century B.C.E. and began to flourish in the first century C.E. as Silk Road trade and cross-cultural connections from the Mediterranean to China fostered its spread.

The majority of works in the exhibition are on loan from the National Museum in Karachi and Central Museum in Lahore. Comparative works are included from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Asia Society Museum and private collections. The display is organized by Adriana Proser, Asia Society Museum’s John H. Foster Curator for Traditional Asian Art.