Page 125 - Chinese Works of Art and Buddhist sculpture, June 18, 2018 Galerie Zacke

110 ⚃军Ḽᶾ䲨‍旨伭崓㉱⃳≺㕗昞⁷
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A MONUMENTAL HERACLES TERRACOTTA STATUE, GANDHARA, 4 䲭昞炻役ẋ㛐⸽⹏炻檀 91 cm (ᶵ⏓⸽⹏)
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– 5 CENTURY ‍旨伭⛘⋨炻屜曄ⷅ⚳炻⚃军Ḽᶾ䲨
Terracotta, with recent wooden base, height 91 cm (without base) 䅙慳⃱㷔娎嫱㖶
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Ancient region of Gandhara, Kushan period – 4 – 5 century
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TL Test confirms the dating (see below) 忁ᾳⶐ⣏䘬⸦᷶䛇Ṣ⣏⮷䘬屜曄㗪㛇‍旨伭晽⁷⇣䔓Ḯ䤆俾劙晬崓㉱⃳
≺㕗⛸⁷ˤ䔞㗪崓㉱⃳≺㕗冯➟慹∃䤆䚠斄炻⚈㬌ḇ㗗ἃ旨䘬䫔ᶨỵᾅ嬟
This monumental, near life-size Kushan period Gandharan statue depicts 侭ˤṾ䘬共悐㤝℞⭴㚱堐䎦≃炻护≩㚱≃䘬共悐㚚䵓炻䛤䜃↠↢炻䓇≽⛘
Heracles seated in royal ease. The divine hero was at the time connected ㌚㚚䘬柕檖␴攟攟䘬檵櫂ˤ⛐屜曄㗪㛇炻忁䧖檵櫂柕塓䓐㕤⸦ᾳ䓟⿏䤆䣿
with Vajrapani and hence the first protector of Buddha. He shows an ㆾ劙晬ˤ⤪旧䈡㉱㕗ㆾ䉬⤏⯤䳊㕗炻㤝⮹塓ἧ䓐ḶㆹᾹ䘬崓㉱⃳≺㕗ˤ
expressive, dominating face with bulging eyes, vividly curled hair and long 昌Ḯ丷儘ⶫ⢾炻崓㉱⃳≺㕗崌幓墠橼䘬炻㕩怲怬㚱ᶨỵ幓㛸䞖⮷䘬⤛⿏Ṣ
beard. During the Kushan period, this type of bearded head was used for 䈑炻⤡㬋⛐㊧叿儘ⷞ⍣怖ỷ⤡䘬ᶳ⋲幓ˤ
several male deities or heroes. such as Atlas or Dionysus and rarely, as in
our example, for Heracles. Besides a loincloth Heracles is naked, as is the ‍旨伭䌳⚳⽆℔⃫⇵530⸜⇘℔⃫1021⸜炻䔞㗪䘬㚨⼴ᶨᾳ⚳䌳塓冒⶙䘬
small female human figure next to him, who is holding a loincloth up to 悐昲㭢⭛ˤ‍旨伭䌳⚳㨓嶐䔞Ṳ旧⭴㯿␴⶜➢㕗✎䘬悐↮⛘⋨炻ẍ℞䌐䈡
cover her lower body. 䘬ἃ㔁喅埻桐㟤侴倆⎵炻娚喅埻䓙ⶴ冀炻㔀⇑Ṇ炻㲊㕗␴⌘⹎䘬喅埻⼙枧
≃⎰Ἕ侴ㆸˤ⽆䫔ᶨ军䫔Ḽᶾ䲨䘬屜曄㗪㛇炻‍旨伭桐㟤䚃埴᷎忼⇘溶䚃
The kingdom of Gandhara lasted from 530 BC to 1021 AD, when its last 㗪㛇ˤ⛐℔⃫ᶨᶾ䲨炻‍旨伭㗗ᶨṃ㚨㖑䘬ἃ㔁⚾⁷䘬娽䓇⛘ˤ
king was murdered by his own troops. It stretched across parts of present-
day Afghanistan and Pakistan. Gandhara is noted for its distinctive style in ⛐䫔⚃ᶾ䲨⇘䫔ℕᶾ䲨⼴㛇炻‍旨伭ἧ䓐䠔岒昞䒟ẋ㚧䞛㜧炷⤪䇯ⱑ炸炻
Buddhist art, which developed out of a merger of Greek, Syrian, Persian and ⛐娚⛘⋨䅺墥䘬䱀⛇₡㟤㖪屜炻⚈䁢䅺墥忶䦳㇨暨䘬㛐㛸䦨仢ˤ⚈㬌炻忁
Indian artistic influence. Gandharan style flourished and achieved its peak 㧋ᶨᾳ㖪屜䘬晽⟹⮯㗗ᶨᾳ朆ⷠ㚱₡ῤ䘬ἃ㔁䓊⑩ˤ⽆忁ᾳ㗪㛇␴夷㧉Ἦ
during the Kushan period, from the 1st to the 5th century. In the first century 䚳炻⎒㚱⼰⮹䘬ℝ楔ό晽⁷㚦䴻塓姀抬ᶳἮˤ
AD, Gandhara was the birthplace of some of the earliest Buddhist images.
Ṣ䈑⼊䉨
The use of hard-fired ceramic instead of stone such as schist was popular ⯢⮠烉 91 x 88 x 25 cm (ᶵ⏓⸽⹏)
during the later Gandharan period from the 4th to the 6th centuries C.E. ⑩䚠㤝⤥炻⸦᷶䌐ᶨ䃉Ḵ䘬ᾅ⬀䉨㱩炻⬴ℐ䫎⎰晽⟹䘬㗪ẋ炻ᶨṃ㙜曚⋨
Fired clay was expensive in the area, because the wood needed for the ➇㚱⽖ᶵ嵛忻䘬㛸㕁㎵⣙
firing process was scarce. Therefore, such an expensive sculpture would
have been a highly meritorious Buddhist offering. Only very few terracotta Ἦ冒㱽⚳Ṇ䐇·傉⃳ (1854–1932)㓞啷ˤ忁ỵ啷⭞䘬㓞啷嵛嶉⎗徥㹗⇘ Ṿ
statues from this period and size have ever been recorded. 䘬䣾⃰⁛㔁⢓⎌ỗ⮇炷㱽婆⎵Évariste Regis Huc 1813 – 1860), Ṿ⛐Ṿ
䘬㕭埴ᷕ䴻忶呁⎌炻大啷␴ᷕ⚳ˤṆ䐇·傉⃳⃰䓇1890⸜㚦㗗⎸欗㕗⟙
Shape: Figural shape 䣦䷥䶐炻䚜⇘1932⸜⍣ᶾ炻Ṿᶨ䚜㗗ᶨỵ⼰⍿㬉彶㓧㱣姀侭冯喅埻姽婾
Dimensions: 91 x 88 x 25 cm (without the base) ⭞ˤ1895⸜Ṿ倗⦣楔岥屜㕷⭞⹕䈡昮 Theron炻ἧṾ傥⣈两临㒜⣏Ṿ⽆⎌
Condition: Excellent, almost unique condition, fully consistent with the age ỗ⮇两㈧侴Ἦ䘬㓞啷ˤṾ⍣ᶾ⼴炻Ṿ⥣⫸㍍㓞㓞啷炻⛐⤡ᷳ⼴炻㗗ṾᾹ䘬
of the sculpture, insignificant material loss to some exposed areas ⬑⫸Ᾱ两㈧ˤ㬌㓞啷⁛㈧㚱⸷炻⸞⛐1967⸜忚埴Ḯ⣏夷㧉䘬䶐抬ⶍἄ炻
㬌⁷⛐恋㗪῁⯙⶚䴻㚱ㇳ丒䳈㍷ (夳 www.zacke.at㍸ὃ䘬⛐䵓屯㕁)
Provenance: From the collection of Arthur Huc (1854–1932), France.
The roots of this collection go back to Évariste Regis Huc (1813 – 1860), 䥹⬠㷔槿烉䅙慳⃱㷔娎䓙㴟⽟⟉⣏⬠Klaus Tschira Archaeometry ᷕ⽫
a French missionary and discoverer who became known for his travels REM laboratories ⮎槿⭌Ernst Pernicka 㔁㌰柀⮶忚埴炻㩊㷔⟙⏲#150344
through Mongolia, Tibet and China. Mr. Arthur Huc became the editor- 炻2016⸜1㚰12㖍炻䡢娵㬌⁷⸜漉䁢2,000⸜炷婌ⶖᶲᶳ500⸜炸᷎嫱⮎ “
in-chief of La Dépêche in Toulouse in 1890 and was a popular political 桐㟤⸜ẋ⮵ㅱ”ˤ
journalist and a reputed art critic until his death in 1932. In 1895 he
married into the wealthy and noble Theron family from Marseille, which 㔯䌣⍫侫烉‍旨伭昞⁷㤝℞䦨㚱炻⛐ⶪ⟜ᶲ暋⼿䘤䎦屜曄㗪㛇䘬栆Ụ
enabled him to expand the collection inherited from Évariste Huc. After ἄ⑩炻䚖⇵怬㰺㚱䘤䎦䚠⎴昞⁷ˤ夳Ἓ⢓⼿˪⌘䫔⬱冯㜙⋿Ṇ喅埻˫
his death, his collection was inherited by his wife, and, after her death, 炻2013⸜3㚰19㖍炻䲸䲬炻212嘇㉵⑩炷ᶨᾳ厑啑柕⁷炸ㆾ喯⭴㭼˪ぇ
by their children. It was systematically inventoried and documented as 䚠烉⬿㔁喅埻⮰㉵˫炻2014⸜9㚰17㖍炻䲸䲬炻410嘇㉵⑩炷ᶨᾳ厑啑柕
complete collection in 1967 from which comes the hand-drawn sketch of 悐昞⁷炸ˤ
this statue (see images online at www.zacke.at) ⎎夳忼㉱㕗伶埻棐⑰忼⛘⋨“厑啑㶙⿅”昞⁷ (no. 2010.17) 冯㇜㫏⯤
ᾖ㕗柕⁷炻冯䲸䲬⣏悥㚫喅埻⌂䈑棐ᷕ䘬崓㉱⃳≺㕗⁷㤝℞䚠Ụ (no.
Scientific testing: A thermoluminescence test, conducted by Professor Dr. 1979.507.2)
Ernst Pernicka at the REM laboratories of the Klaus Tschira Archaeometry
Center at the University of Heidelberg, the corresponding written report Estimate EUR 15.000,-
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#150344 dated January 12 , 2016, confirms an age of 2,000 years (with Starting price EUR 7.000,-
a tolerance of +/- 500 years) and states that “the age corresponds to the
stylistic dating” of this statue.

Literature comparison: As Gandharan terracotta artworks are very rare
and hardly ever appear on the market the examples given here show
various examples from the Kushan period but not the same motif. See
Christie’s, Indian and Southeast Asian Art, 19 March 2013, NEW YORK,
lot 212 (for a terracotta head of a bodhisattva) or Sotheby’s, IMAGES OF
ENLIGHTENMENT: DEVOTIONAL WORKS OF ART AND PAINTINGS, 17
SEPTEMBER 2014, NEW YORK, lot 410 (for a terracotta head of a Buddha)

Also see a Hadda region terracotta figure of a ‘Thinking Bodhisattva’ in the
Dallas Museum of Art (accession no. 2010.17) and a terracotta Head of A terracotta head of Dionysos, Kushan
Dionysos, strongly resembling the Heracles present here, in the collection period, at the Metropolitan Museum of
of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (accession no. 1979.507.2) Art, New York

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