Page 180 - Himalayan Art Macrh 19 2018 Bonhams

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A MONUMENTAL SCHIST HAND OF BUDDHA Each finger, knuckle, and nail is carved par excellence, modelled from
ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 3RD/4TH CENTURY real life. Tensing to various degrees, they lightly cup the hem of his
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61561 monastic robe against his thumb. The stone was no doubt was for its
8 x 14 in. (20.3 x 35.6 cm) irregular fine grain, finished with an attractive polish. The size of this hand would
indicate a Buddha more than nine-feet tall, and Behrendt has argued
that, inline with an increasing magnitude in Kushan architecture,
$8,000 - 12,000
monumental Gandharan sculptures more likely date more toward the
latter part of the Kushan era in the 4th/5th centuries (Behrendt, The
犍陀羅 三/四世紀 片岩佛手 Art of Gandhara, New York, 2007, p.72). However, many still hold that
when a Gandharan sculpture exhibits such a virtuosity in naturalism, it
cannot be too far removed from Gandhara’s Greco-Roman ancestry.

Provenance
William H. Wolff, Inc., New York, 5 October 1986
The Elizabeth and Willard Clark Collection, California

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