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When East Met West Under the Buddha's Gaze
Stephen Chernin/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

A Buddhist monk looked at a 3rd century Emaciated Siddhartha statue at the 
Asia Society Museum in New York.
By HOLLAND COTTER
Published: August 10, 2011

After what seemed like an endless run of geopolitical roadblocks, "The 
Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara" has finally come, six months 
late, from Pakistan to Asia Society. Is the show worth all the diplomatic 
headaches it caused? With its images of bruiser bodhisattvas, polycultural 
goddesses and occasional flights into stratosphere splendor, it is.

That all but a handful of the 75 sculptures are from museums in Lahore and 
Karachi is in itself remarkable. Any effort to borrow ancient art from South 
Asia is fraught, even in the best of times. For an entire show of loans to 
make the trip, and in a period when Pakistan and the United States are 
barely on speaking terms, is miraculous. (Without the persistent effort of 
Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, the 
exhibition would almost certainly never have happened.) So the show has a 
cliffhanger back story as an attraction, and some monumental work, like the 
fantastic relief called "Vision of a Buddha's Paradise." (Dated to the 
fourth century A.D., it's a kind of flash-mob version of heaven.)

-- 
the rest, including photos at
http://tinyurl.com/3pxjz48

Slideshow at
http://tinyurl.com/3e324ul

Dan