Silk Road transmission of art

Chinese jade and steatite plaques, in the Scythian-style animal art of the steppes. 4th-3rd century BCE. British Museum.

Many artistic influences transited along the Silk Road, especially through the Central Asia, where Hellenistic, Iranian, Indian and Chinese influence were able to interact. In particular Greco-Buddhist art represent one of the most vivid examples of this interaction. As shown on the 1st century CE Silk Road map, there is no single road but a whole network of long-distance routes: mainly two land routes and one sea route.