Investigations of a Gandharan stucco head of the Buddha at the Victoria and Albert Museum (IM.3-1931)

Verri, Giovanni; Luczanits, Christian; Borges, Victor; Barnard, Nick; Clarke, John

Abstract

This study presents the results of a technical and art historical study of an important Gandharan head from the Victoria and Albert Museum. For several years, the head has played an important role in the history of Gandharan art, because of its high aesthetic qualities. However, the head has received limited scholarly attention since its first display in the 1930s. This study reviewed the head’s physical, curatorial and conservation history and determined its construction using non-invasive and non-contact investigative techniques (technical imaging, FTIR, XRF and FORS). The support consists of several layers of a lime- and gypsum-based plaster (gauging plaster) and only salient elements of the face (e.g. lips, eyes and hairline) and the hair were painted, with a high-quality red ochre and with an unidentified black pigment, respectively. A careful examination of the construction of the head allowed to determine that it probably belonged to an iconic representation of the Buddha, as opposed to a narrative scene.

Citation

Verri, G., Luczanits, C., Borges, V., Barnard, N., & Clarke, J. (2020). Investigations of a Gandharan stucco head of the Buddha at the Victoria and Albert Museum (IM.3-1931). Techné (Paris), 48, 136-149. https://doi.org/10.4000/techne.2792

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 12, 2020
• Publication Date: Jun 8, 2020
• Deposit Date: Jan 25, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 25, 2021
• Journal: Technè
• Print ISSN: 1254-7867
• Electronic ISSN: 2534-5168
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 48
• Pages: 136-149
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/techne.2792
• Keywords: Gandhara, stucco, gauging plaster, polychromy
• Publisher URL: https://journals.openedition.org/techne/2792
• Related Public URLs: https://www.openedition.org/21578