Classical Art and Ancient India: Proceedings of the Workshop Held in Oxford, 21-22 March 2023

Throughout the centuries of classical, Graeco-Roman history, India had strong connections with the world of the Mediterranean and Western Asia, sometimes by land or as a result of direct conquest, at other times through the maritime links of the Indian Ocean.In the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods (c. fourth century BC to fifth century AD) the movement of artistic ideas between these regions intensified.It appears to be vividly attested in the earliest cave-paintings at Ajanta in Maharashtra, for example, and in the Buddhist sculptures of Andhra Pradesh.In the first two centuries AD, when trade with India was central to Roman luxury consumption and brought colossal revenue to the Empire, Roman coins and other artefacts reached India in abundance and artistic connections are manifest, albeit often subtle and elusive. Building on the Classical Art Research Centre’s earlier Gandhara Connections project, Classical Art and Ancient India brings together research presented by internatio