The Buddha Image: "Out of Uddiyana"

The exhibition features a wide range of very early Buddha imagery and related artworks from the Buckingham Collection, carefully and knowledgeably assembled over the past forty and more years, now exhibited for the very first time at Tibet House.

The exhibition includes a number of Gandharan sculptural masterpieces in stone; coins and seals with perhaps the earliest Buddha imagery; a large group of extremely rare bronze Buddhas and Bodhisattvas from Gandhara and Swat; important stupas of differing sizes, styles and materials – including gold and crystal; precious reliquaries in crystal, silver, gold, bronze and stone; 'pilgrimage' items in terra‐cotta, bone and other materials; and important Gandhara‐inspired Buddhas recovered from early Chinese cultures. This treasury of early Buddhist art‐works demonstrates how Buddhist images and distinctive styles evolved "out of Uddiyana" ‐ an area nowadays known as Swat, in present‐day northern Pakistan ‐ and were transmitted along the Silk Route to Central Asia, China and beyond.

A key person in the transmission of tantric teachings to Tibet was Padmasambhava, "Guru Rinpoche", born in Uddiyana/Swat. The journey of this "Second Buddha," a tantric Master, "out of Uddiyana" , who transformed Tibet at a crucial time during the 8th century.

Take the Virtual Tour

I: Gandharan Stone Sculptures

II: Stupas and Reliquaries

III: Gandharan and Swat Metal Buddhas

IV: Pilgrim's Treasures, Artifacts and Artwork

V: Transmission Buddhas and Bodhisattvas along the Silk Route

- Introduction: Out of Uddiyana - PDF