Gandharan Sculpture from Nimogram (Swat)

The Swat valley of Pakistan - Ancient Gandhara is the land where hundreds of Buddhist temples are concentrated. This place is described in ancient Tibetan texts and is revered as a shrine, since, according to legend, Padmasambhava, the second Buddha and the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, was born here.

The favorable location of the valley along the caravan routes provided it with important strategic links with Ancient China and the West. The art represented primarily through architecture and sculpture is the evidence of the fusion of civilizations. For a long time, Swat hosted numerous craft schools of icon painting, weaving, sculpture, which contributed to the unprecedented rise of artistic creativity.

The English-language monograph by Sadid Arif "Gandharan Sculpture from Nimogram (Swat)" is available for download on the website of the International Institute for Central Asian Studies (IICAS) (http://unesco-iicas.org/library/2/Monographs). The paperback version of the monograph can be obtained upon request from the Secretariat of IICAS in September.

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