Stone palette

Stone palettes, also called Toilet trays, are round trays commonly found in the areas of Bactria and Gandhara, which usually represent Greek mythological scenes. Some of them are attributed to the Indo-Greek period in the 2nd and 1st century BCE (a few were retrieved from the Indo-Greek stratum No.5 at Sirkap), and many are considered to be of later production, around the 1st century CE during the time of the Indo-Parthians. They practically disappear after the 1st century. Many have been found at the archaeological site of Sirkap, in today's Pakistan.

Function

It is thought, with some uncertainty, that these trays were used to mix cosmetic products (cf. ancient Egyptian cosmetic palettes). The Ancient Orient Museum was able to analyse the remains of substances adhering to a number of stone palettes, which turned out to be colored cosmetic powders akin to blush. A frieze discovered in Butkara also shows a woman using a mirror as she puts her fingers into one of these stone palettes. [Report of the Italian mission to Butkara.]

These stone palettes provide an interesting instance of Hellenistic art in the northwestern Indian subcontinent, disconnected from the Buddhist narrative to which it is usually associated in the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara.

Only very few of these palettes are known which contain representations of the Buddha.

Crescent-shaped recipients:

T-shape recipients:

Other shapes:

Notes

References

* Francfort, Henri-Paul "Les Palettes du Gandhara" 1979 (in French). Paris: Diffusion de Brocard.