Page 7 - Bonhams, Indian and Himalayan Art New York July 23, 2020

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A SCHIST PANEL WITH SCENES OF SIDDHARTHA’S YOUTH A SCHIST FALSE GABLE WITH THE GREAT DEPARTURE
ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 2ND/3RD CENTURY ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 2ND/3RD CENTURY
9 1/2 x 16 3/4 in. (24.2 x 42.5 cm) 13 in. (33 cm) high

$4,000 - 6,000 $3,000 - 5,000
犍陀羅 二/三世紀 片岩悉達多太子圖傳石碑 犍陀羅 二/三世紀 片岩夜半逾城圖石碑

This curved panel of green schist depicts scenes from the life of In the bottom register of this neat and well-preserved stele, Siddhartha
Prince Siddhartha before he became the Buddha. The lower register rides a horse towards the viewer, relinquishing palace life in pursuit of
illustrates the episode when his jealous cousin Devadatta tries to kill the spiritual. The horse’s gallop is softened by the supporting yaksha
him, striking the state elephant during a celebration of Siddhartha’s below so as not to wake the city guards in the dead of night. To the
sporting prowess. In keeping with the synoptic narrative, Siddhartha right, Siddhartha’s groom holds the royal parasol aloft, while the figure
is also shown throwing the deceased elephant over the city walls, to the left looking up in astonishment is commonly identified as Mara
clearing his path. Notable is the fine attention to detail and quaint being unable to prevent Siddhartha’s decision. The registers above
rendition of the composition, with scenes divided by figures in niches. depict Buddha under the bodhi tree and a bodhisattva (likely Maitreya)
It is more common for scenes to be divided by simple columns, as being venerated by followers. A pair of parrots perch above.
in the upper register, however here in the lower register, a camel
rider emerges as if stepping out from an alley towards the viewer. In Buddha’s Great Departure was a preferred subject for such lobed
terms of quality, the panel closely compares to another depicting this false gables, which ornamented a stupa’s drum. The Indian Museum,
same scene in the Peshawar Museum, published in Luczanits (ed.), Kolkata, has a complete stupa with false gables of a similar size
Gandhara, Mainz, 2008, p.220, no.154. (Luczanits, Gandhara, Mainz, 2008, p.174, abb.4). Two other false
gables with the Great Departure are in Ingholt, Gandharan Art in
Provenance Pakistan, New York, 1959, no.168, and Kurita, Gandharan Art, Vol.1,
The Estate of Benjamin M. Rice II, New York, by 1998 Tokyo, 1988, p.82, no.145.

Provenance
The Estate of Benjamin M. Rice II, New York, by 1998

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