Shard

Art Historical Context

This delicate painted terracotta shard, hailing from the Gandhara region of ancient Pakistan around the 4th–5th century CE, offers a tantalizing glimpse into a vibrant crossroads of cultures. Measuring just 1 1/2 inches high, it is a fragment likely from a larger ceramic vessel, plaque, or architectural element. Gandhara, straddling modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, was a hub of the Kushan Empire, where Greek, Roman, Persian, and Indian influences fused, most famously in Buddhist art. Though small, this shard exemplifies the everyday artistry of the era, preserved through the Seymour Fund a...