Purchase options for this image
The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two 6th century monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km (143 miles) northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2,500 meters (8,202 ft).<br/><br/> Built in 507 CE, the larger in 554 CE, the statues represented the classic blended style of Gandhara art. The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modeled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. This coating, practically all of which was worn away long ago, was painted to enhance the expressions of the faces, hands and folds of the robes; the larger one was painted carmine red and the smaller one was painted multiple colors. The lower parts of the statues' arms were constructed from the same mud-straw mix while supported on wooden armatures. It is believed that the upper parts of their faces were made from great wooden masks or casts.<br/><br/> The rows of holes that can be seen in photographs were spaces that held wooden pegs which served to stabilize the outer stucco. They were intentionally dynamited and destroyed in 2001 by the Taliban, on orders from leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, after the Taliban government declared that they were ‘idols’.<br/><br/> International opinion strongly condemned the destruction of the Buddhas, which was viewed as an example of the intolerance of the Taliban. Japan and Switzerland, among others, have pledged support for the rebuilding of the statues.

Purchase options

Listed below are the purchase options for this image. To make a purchase and add items to your cart, you must be signed in as a registered user of this site.

Product options for this image

CONTACT US DIRECTLY FOR DETAILS OF RIGHTS AND PRICING – $0.00

 
Please contact us directly with the CPA reference code of image(s) required (eg CPA0024001) and supply the following details:
 
1. Category = Advertising / Corporate / Documentary / Marketing / Publishing / Retail
2. Territory = World All Languages [unless otherwise specified]
3. Placement = Cover / Inside [for books]
4. Size = Quarter, half, full, double page
5. Digital = Include digital rights or not?
6. Duration = Single Edition / In Perpetuity
7. Print Run = Number of volumes to be printed
 
All images are available as watermarked high resolution Tiffs or Jpegs on request.
We will respond with pricing details within 24 hours and once payment has been made - by PayPal or Direct Electronic Transfer - we will send the unwatermarked high resolution image(s) immediately.
 
Please contact us directly for any further information.

Configure product