<論文>ガンダーラの石製小皿と工人集団

Abstract

This paper aims to consider the artisan groups who produced small stone trays (so-called toilet trays) that have been excavated from various places in Greater Gandhara. As a result of analyzing the materials collected by H. P. Francfort and the investigation of materials existing in Japan by the author, it was found that the manufacturing methods of the stone trays can be divided into two groups : a method with lathe machining (called "a"), and a method without lathe machining (called "b"). Furthermore, there are five main ways to divide the inner surface of a tray into several compartments (labeled 1-5). It became clear that the two manufacturing methods and the ways of dividing are closely associated. That is, while "a1, " "a2, " "a5, " "b3, " "b4, " and "b5" exist, "a3, " "a4, " "b1, " and "b2" do not. When we confirmed iconographies carved on the stone trays made by each group, it was found that some of them were adopted in the trays made by both groups. Therefore, it is highly possible that there were some groups who carved iconography apart from the artisan groups who made the stone trays. The excavation of the Sirkap site in Taxila indicates that both groups "a" and "b" were active in parallel as early as the second century BC or as late as the middle of the first century AD. Also in the latter half of the first century, stone trays were still popular among the Sirkap where "diaper masonry" was adopted for building some structures. Considering the origin of both artisan groups, it is highly possible that group "a" was derived from an artisan group in India who had been making Buddhist reliquaries using the lathe machining since before the third century BC. On the other hand, it can be pointed out that group "b" may be related to an artisan group in Bactria who produced stone plates whose inner parts were divided in Ai Khanoum without using the lathe machining. Therefore, it is thought that in Greater Gandhara several artisan groups existed that had various forms of technical exchange during the period just before the appearance of Buddha images.