Head of Warrior
Tapa Kalān - Figure
This mustached warrior with a shaved chin has short, curly hair, depicted schematically in hollow. The lobes of his ears are deformed. The face bears the mark of Western influence. The deep gaze and the dark expression give this fighter a tormented look.
Observation :J. Barthoux had nicknamed this warrior "Gallic barbarian" because of his moustache. This qualifier, which is open to interpretation, is misleading. Barthoux never claimed that the character was a Celt, strictly speaking. Shaved and mustached warriors are common in Haḍḍa, and this warrior evokes a Celt only to the Western eye.
The similarities we might draw are to be put in perspective with the aesthetic traditions of Gandhara, the product of many artistic influences. The different physical and ethnic types result from borrowing and adaptation. In Haḍḍa, local l infuences mingle with Western, Indian, Iranian and Central Asian influences. Like the character of Vajrapāṇi, the guardian of the Buddha, sometimes represented as Herakles, Alexander the Great or even Zeus, they are nevertheless characters from the Indian legend represented under Hellenistic features.
Bibliographical References :BARTHOUX Jules - 1930 - Les Fouilles de Haḍḍa, Figures et Figurines - Pl. 47 a et a'
