Page 142 - Himalayan Art Macrh 19 2018 Bonhams

3063
A GREEN SCHIST PANEL OF THE ENTREATY TO PREACH THE DOCTRINE
SWAT VALLEY, CIRCA 3RD CENTURY
22 x 17 3/4 in. (55 x 45 cm)

$30,000 - 50,000
斯瓦特 約三世紀 片岩梵天勸請佛陀說法圖

With Brahma dressed as a sage positioned to his right and Indra in royal garb to his
left, the scene depicts an important moment in the life of Buddha. As described in
the Mahavatsu, after gaining enlightenment, Buddha was reluctant to teach what was
revealed to him, concerned that his insights would be rejected by the world. Observing
Buddha’s thoughts, Brahma rallied Indra and other gods to implore Buddha to preach
and “set rolling the wheel of the dharma” (see Jones, The Mahavastu, Vol. 3., 1956,
reprint, London: Forgotten Books, 2013, pp.302-9).

As such, the scene is also an important moment in a larger narrative, foreshadowing
the creation of the sangha and the wider spread of Buddhism. Furthermore, from
the perspective of Buddhism’s growth in the ancient region of Gandhara, the panel
didactically raises the Buddhist doctrine above competing for Brahmanic thought and
practice, the latter being referenced in the two gods entreating Buddha.

This scene, the use of green schist, and the two motifs of floral roundels within the throne
and the richly carved boughs of the Bodhi tree above Buddha proliferated in the Swat
Valley, surviving in numerous examples among the archeological record. Comparable
pieces depicting the same subject and style are published in Luczanits, Gandhara:
Das Buddhistische erbe Pakistans, Mainz, 2008, p.182, fig.3, and pp.203 & 237,
nos.119c & 183. See also Ingholt, Gandharan Art in Pakistan, New York, 1957, no.71.
Further examples were sold Christie’s, London, 16 June 1987, lot 371, and Christie’s,
Amsterdam, 5 December 1989, lot 137. Also see Kurita, Gandharan Art, vol.I, Tokyo,
1988, p.131, no.257.

Provenance
Heinrich von Brentano, Berlin, 1964
Hans Battenburg, Dusseldorf
Thence by descent

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