See Also: Kushan(dictionary)
Kushan art(encyclopedia)

Kushan art (sh)




or Kusana art

Art produced during the Kushan dynasty (late 1st-3rd century AD), in an area that now includes parts of Central Asia, northern India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

There are two major stylistic divisions among artifacts of the period: the imperial art of Iranian derivation, and the Buddhist art of mixed Greco-Roman and Indian sources. The former is exemplified by stiff, frontal portraits (including those on coins) emphasizing the individual's power and wealth. The second, more realistic, style is typified by the schools of Gandhara and Mathura art.