A very old, finely carved grey schist palette, from the ancient region of Gandhara. This shallow, bowl-shaped dish is very ornate in design, the upper section depicting a couple, the bottom half having 2 cosmetic palette trays (both men and women wore some make up).

Possibly a wedding ceremony gift.

The carved back is bevelled and ornately designed with a dotted rim, 2 concentric rows of leaves and a central sun boss.

Good condition for age, diameter 9.8cm (3.75 inches).

For similar examples of palettes see:

Ashraf Khan M. Gandhara. Geography, Antiquity, Art& Personalities. Islamabad, 2004, p. 45

S. Czuma, Kushan Sculpture: Images from Early India, 1985, fig. 70, and H. Ingholt, Gandharan Art in Pakistan, 1957, fig. 484

The Gandhara Civilisation existed in what is now Northern Pakistan and Afghanistan, from the middle of the 1st millennium BC to the beginning of the 2nd millennium AD. Although multiple major powers ruled over this area during that time, they all had in common great reverence for Buddhism and the adoption of the Indo Greek artistic tradition which had developed in the region following Alexander's invasions into India. Cash on collection from Poole.