King Kanishka – Southeast Asian/Buddhist
320 BCE – 500 CE
This is made of red sandstone, a popular medium for Southeastern Asia. The statue as it is, stands 5 ft. 4 in. tall and if the head was still attached it would have made the statue life-sized. Historians know that someone purposefully destroyed the head because the breaking point is too clean and sharp for it to have broken off naturally. Someone who was not fond of the king must have chopped it off.
King Kanishka was the man who conquered India and started the Kushan empire. He set up a palace in Mathura, India, an important place for Buddhist art. The statue is a depiction of him; however it is not a friendly portrayal of the king. Instead, the statue was meant to show his power in every way possible. This is a portrait of a king who has conquered foreign land and made it his own. It is clear that he was not native to India because of his apparel. The clothing on him was native to Afghanistan during that time.
Today, historians are not sure if the statue still exists as it was taken by the Taliban and hasn’t been seen since.
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