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739
A STUCCO HEAD OF BUDDHA
ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 2ND/3RD CENTURY
13 1/4 in. (34.3 cm) high
$30,000 - 50,000

犍陀羅 二/三世紀 泥塑佛首

Larger than life size, this impressive sculpture depicting the head of the Buddha
has been preserved in remarkable condition, and is a surviving testament to the
Buddhist art centers flourishing in the ancient region of Gandhara. Whereas most
Gandharan stucco sculptures have suffered from exposure to the elements, the
impeccably smooth surface of the present work is preserved in its near original
glory. The artist’s fine molding of Buddha’s plump lips and wavy locks endure,
radiating in concentric bands from a central widow’s peak, flowing over the
domed ushnisha which terminate into curls.

Only a few Gandharan stucco heads of a similar or larger scale have survived.
One superb example was sold in Bonhams, Hong Kong 2 October 2018, lot 8.
Another finely preserved head from Hadda, with the same modeling of the coiffure
and the elliptical depression used to define the philtrum, is preserved in the Victoria
and Albert Museum, London (IM.3-1931). Further comparisons to the present
sculpture’s sensitive modeling can be made with a stucco head of Buddha in the
Tokyo National Museum (Kurita, Gandharan Art II, The World of the Buddha, 2003,
p. 121, no. 326), and another example formerly in the Cleveland Museum of Art
(Hollis, ‘Central Asian Stucco Sculptures’, in The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum
of Art, vol. 32, no. 3, March 1945, pp. 26-7).

Provenance
Sotheby’s, New York, 22 September 2000, lot 106

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122 | BONHAMS