120 



V. A. Smith — Gnuco-Buman Influence 



[No. 3, 



the roughest possible sketches, of sorue remarkable sculptures found 

 at Jamalgarlri. The works, thus imperfectly illustrated, were subse- 

 quently brought to England, and exhibited in the Crystal Palace, where 

 they were destroyed by the disastrous fire which also consumed Major 

 Gill's copies of the paintings on the walls and ceilings of the Ajanta 

 caves. 



Prinsop's and Bayley's description of the works of Indo- Greek 

 sculptors failed to attract general attention, probably owing to the 

 extreme rudeness of the illustrative plates. Dr. Leituer, who brought to 

 Europe in 1870 a considerable collection of works of art, to which he 

 gave the name of Grseco-Buddhist, is entitled to the credit of being the 

 first to interest the learned world in the existence of a school of Indo- 

 Hellenic architecture and sculpture. 



Though the Greek influence on the style of the works exhibited by 

 Dr. Leitner, and on the many similar objects since discovered, is now 

 universally admitted, it is remarkable that, so late as the year 1875, at 

 least one writer of repute denied its existence. 



" It has become a fashion recently," wrote the late Mr. W. Vaux, 

 P. R. S., " to extend a Greek influence to districts east of Bactria, for 

 which I venture to think there is really but little evidence. Thus, we 

 are told that certain Buddhistic figures, chiefly in slate, procured by 

 Dr. Leitner and others to the north-east of Peshawar, exhibit on them 

 manifest traces of Greek art. I am sorry to say that T cannot perceive 

 anything of the kind."* 



The Greek influence on the Gandhara sculptures, which Mr. Vaux 

 could not perceive, is so obvious to other critics, that a formal refutation 

 of his ill-founded scepticism would now be superfluous. Professor Cur- 

 tius has rightly observed that the discoveries of Dr. Leitner, Sir A. 

 Cunningham, and other explorers in the Kabul valley, "open a new 

 page in the history of Greek art."t 



The new page thus opened has as yet been little read, and I ven- 

 ture to hope that the following description of a few of the most note- 

 worthy examples of Indo-Helleuic art, and discussion of the sources 

 from which it was derived, may attract both classical and Oriental 

 scholars to the further exploration of a field hitherto very imperfectly 

 worked. 



The present section will be devoted to the description of some of 

 the more remarkable and characteristic specimens of the work of the 



* Numismatic OhroMe, Vol XV, N. g., p. 12, WStt, 



t Abhandlv.it g flier die Qrieehieehe Kunst, as quoted in Dr. Leitner's Catalogue, 

 I believe the paper was published in the Archmfopisehe Zeitvmg for 1875, but I 

 havo not soon it. 



