2nd-4th century AD. A schist panel depicting Buddha seated on a throne with aureole behind, wearing monastic robes, hair pulled up into ushnisha, urna between the eyes; group of on-looking disciples to the side, worshipping; niché to the right with a female dancer on a base, with one hand on her hip, and the other raised above her head; mounted on a custom-made stand. See Jongeward, D., Buddhist Art of Gandhara in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 2018, for discussion.24.1 kg, 50cm including stand (19 3/4"). Property of a West London gentleman; from a private collection since 1989. Gandhara is noted for the distinctive style of its Buddhist art, which developed from a merger of Greek, Syrian, Persian, and Indian artistic influences. This development began during the Parthian Period (50 BC - AD 75) but is most notable for the Hellenistic styles that developed their unique forms through contact with Indian artistic traditions. The Gandharan style flourished and achieved its peak during the Kushan period, from the 1st to the 5th centuries. It declined and was destroyed after the invasion of the White Huns in the 5th century. Prior to the arrival of the Greeks to the area the Buddha was only represented through symbols, such as a wheel, or foot prints and an empty throne, as there was a ban on the depiction on the Buddha in art. Due to the increased influence of Hellenistic culture the Buddha was eventually depicted in statues and paintings, often with the features of Greek deities or Alexander the Great.