Page 146 - Himalayan Art Macrh 19 2018 Bonhams

3065
A SCHIST HEAD OF BUDDHA
ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 3RD/4TH CENTURY
11 1/2 in. (29.2 cm) high

$150,000 - 250,000
犍陀羅 三/四世紀 片岩佛首

This masterpiece of Gandharan sculpture elegantly depicts the Buddha with a sensitively
modeled face of slightly fleshy cheeks, a bow-shaped mouth, and softly contoured nose.
His resplendent wavy locks pulled over the ushnisha convey the master sculptor’s pursuit
of realism inspired by Greco-Roman aesthetics. His features are wonderfully preserved.
The heavy-lidded eyes survive in superb high relief, and the ears remain wonderfully
modeled with precise contours and thick lobes.

Compare a closely related example sold at Christie’s, New York, 19 March 2013, lot
201, both sculpted in a similar schist of a darker and finer grain that was highly prized
for the level of detail a sculptor could achieve and therefore often reserved for the most
important commissions. Further comparison can be made with the head of a standing
Buddha in the British Museum published in Zwalf, Gandharan Sculpture 1999, p.10,
no.3, showing a similar treatment of the hair, and calm, nuanced expression.

Provenance
Graham Gallery, New York, December 1961
American Private Collection

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