Page 13 - Bonhams, Indian and Himalayan Art New York July 23, 2020

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A SCHIST PANEL WITH THE OFFERING OF A HANDFUL The Buddha was much impressed by this childish act of piety an
OF DUST prophesied that the boy would become a mighty Buddhist monarch
ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 2ND/3RD CENTURY in some future life.” (Ingholt, Gandharan Art in Pakistan, New York,
13 1/2 x 9 3/4 in. (34.3 x 25 cm) 1959, pp.80-1.) This story was later interpreted to identify the child as
the great Buddhist emperor Ashoka (304-232 BCE) in a previous life.
$4,000 - 6,000 Other depictions of this scene are found in ibid., nos.110-1; Kurita,
Gandharan Art, Vol.1, Tokyo, 1988, pp.178-81, nos.351-8; and Sun
犍陀羅 二/三世紀 片岩以沙供佛圖石碑 & He, A History of Gandhara Civilization, Beijing, 2009, p.389, nos.7-
128-30.
Of tall proportions, this panel portrays a delightful moment in the life of
Buddha, retold by Ingholt: “It was routine for the Buddha at a certain Provenance
time of the day to wander around in quest of food. Once when he was Sotheby’s, New York, 21 September 1995, lot 232
doing this in Rajagriha, with his begging bowl held out before him, he The Estate of Benjamin M. Rice II, New York
met two small boys playing in the road. One of these moved as if to
make an offering, but having nothing else at hand, he took a good fistful
of dust and dropped it into the bowl saying that it was barely flour.

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