Monk’s Head

The head with a distinct expression represents a realistic portrait of a monk from Akhnur. His innocent looks and plump cheeks make him look like a relaxed young monk. A similar, yet slightly larger terracotta head of a middle-aged monk and falling into the tradition of early Roman portraiture of a slightly earlier date is reported to be in a private collection in London. Representations of heads of monks' clean shaven with pierced but empty earlobes appear to be common both in stucco and clay in Taxila during the late Kushana period and seem to have greatly influenced the expressive facial features of the Akhnur heads.