Page 178 - Himalayan Art Macrh 19 2018 Bonhams

3078
A LARGE SCHIST HEAD OF BUDDHA
ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 3RD/4TH CENTURY
18 3/8 in. (47.3 cm) high

$300,000 - 500,000
犍陀羅 三/四世紀 片岩佛首

Of exceptional scale with a commanding presence, yet retaining Buddha’s serene
sense of introspection, this head is recognized as one of the great examples of its kind.
Gandharan sculpture’s Greco-Roman legacy and its evolution towards abstraction is
seamlessly juxtaposed here with the naturalistic curves of his nasal sidewall, nostrils, and
chin, and the crisp ridges defining his lips, philtrum, eyelids, and eyebrows.

Buddha’s locks undulate in symmetrical waves from the center point and flow over
the dome of his ushnisha. Close examples are held in the British Museum (see Zwalf,
Gandhara Sculpture, Vol. II, London, 1996, pp.9, 10, & 32, nos.1, 3, & 39). Also compare
another renowned example sold at Christie’s, New York, 19 March 2013, lot 201.

More commonly found on images of bodhisattvas, a mustache is present in a rarer group
of Gandharan Buddha images, including one in the British Museum and another in the
Peshawar Museum (see op. cit., pp.9 & 32, nos.2 & 39; and Kurita, Gandharan Art, Vol.I,
Tokyo, 1988, p.81, no.206; respectively.)

The size, well-preserved condition, and beautiful variation of colors within the stone of
this remarkable head places it amongst the most important examples held in private
hands. With the Rockefeller head at the Asia Society, New York at 14 1/2 inches, and the
British Museum head at 15 inches, the present lot is one of the largest known (cf. op cit.,
p.32, no.39; and Proser, The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan, New York, 2011, p.151, no.
59; respectively).

Published
Pratapaditya Pal, The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection of Sculptures from the Pan-Asian
Collection, Los Angeles, 1978, p.28, no.7.

Exhibited
The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection of Sculptures from the Pan-Asian Collection,
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 24 October 1977 - 15 January 1978; Seattle
Art Museum, 10 March - 23 April 1978; Denver Art Museum, 26 May - 30 July 1978;
Nelson-Atkins Gallery, 15 September - 29 October 1978; National Gallery of Canada, 26
January - 12 March 1979; Toledo Museum of Art, 6 May - 24 June 1979.

Provenance
The Pan-Asian Collection, formed by Christian Humann, 1950s-70s
Robert H. Ellsworth, by 1981
Christie’s, New York, 23 June 1983, lot 445
The Elizabeth and Willard Clark Collection, California

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