OVERVIEW:

The leaders of the Kushan period brought with them in the year 75 A.D. a great respect for the arts. The period had rulers who were very tolerant of many different religions and supported the arts. They especially pushed the Buddhist art of the time and it is the periods were the image of the Buddha came to be. It is not known exactly where the image was first created because there were two different areas in India during this time which were the centers of art. One was the city of Mathura and the other was the city of Gandhara. These two cities were located along important trade routs of the time which brought many outside influences and lots of wealth. The two cities had two very different and distinct styles at the beginning of the Kushan rule. By the third century though these two styles began to mix and form a complete style completely different then any other.