1852.] Note on some Sculptures found hi Peshawar, 61 1 



The second remarkable feature in these sculptures is their decided 

 Buddhist character. 



This indeed is not perhaps so self-evident as their indebtedness to 

 Greek art, but still, I think, quite sufficiently so to leave little doubt 

 that the edifice they adorned was erected by votaries of that faith. 



The strongest evidence to this point is that afforded by figure 8 ; 

 but the elongated ears and decided top-knots which all the figures 

 without exception show, are pretty strong proofs also ; if also the figures 

 1, 2, and 11 are allowed to represent Sakya Siiiha, there is then little 

 question of the nature of an edifice which contained three representa- 

 tions of that holy personage at least. 



I am not blind, however, to some anomalies which seem to stand in 

 the way of this conclusion ; the employment of the " tilak" and the 

 very un-Buddhistical appearance of figure 3 for example ; but I do not 

 think they are incapable of explanation. Figure 8 may have represent- 

 ed a person, a pure Hindu, whose likeness was necessary to the comple- 

 tion of some sculptured story. 



And as the period to which I propose to assign these sculptures, is 

 that of the very earliest imperfect introduction of Buddhism Trans- 

 Indus, there is no difficulty — but rather confirmation of my supposi- 

 tion — to be derived from the anomalous traces of Hindu superstition, 

 such as the occurrence of the "tilak." 



For we know from the Kapur di Giri inscription (Tablet V.) that 

 the precepts of Buddhism had been but imperfectly observed north 

 of the Indus, at the time when that was written ; and supposing 

 these edicts to be the work either of Asoka or of a later king, the lax 

 observance of the injunctions of the Buddhist law at an earlier date 

 is equally established, and there is therefore no improbability, but 

 rather the contrary, that in the first erected Buddhist buildings we 

 should find some admixtures of the characteristics of other tenets. 



The preponderating Buddhist character of the remains warrants, 

 therefore, the attribution of their origin to people of that belief; 

 assuming then these two data, the early Greek and early Buddhist 

 character of these remains, I shall attempt to assign to them at least 

 an approximate date. 



On the coins of the Greek kings of Bactria — certainly until the 

 time of Azas — there is not one symbol, I think, that will even bear a 



4 i 



