Page 142 - Christies Alsdorf Collection PART 2 Sept 24 2020 NYC

崇聖御寶 - 詹姆斯及瑪麗蓮 ·阿爾斯多夫珍藏

952

A GRAY SCHIST FRIEZE OF BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI AND 古犍陀羅 二/三世紀 灰片岩雕釋迦牟尼佛及彌勒佛碑
MAITREYA 來源:
ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 2ND-3RD CENTURY
Spink and Son Ltd，倫敦, 不晚於1988年.。
Buddha and Maitreya shown standing with their right hands raised in abhayamudra,
詹姆斯及瑪麗蓮·阿爾斯多夫珍藏，芝加哥。
Maitreya holding the waterpot in his left hand, both backed by halos and surmounted by
ornamented parasols, Vajrapani depicted leaning in between the two main figures, with an
adorant to the proper left of Maitreya
18º in. (46.3 cm.) high
$15,000-25,000

PROVENANCE:
Spink & Son, Ltd., London, by 1988.
The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago.
EXHIBITED:
The Art Institute of Chicago, “A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast
Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection,” 2 August-26 October 1997,
cat. no. 103.
LITERATURE:
I. Kurita, Gandharan Art, Vol. II, Tokyo, 1990, fig. 83.
P. Pal, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and
Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago, 1997, pp. 88 and 294, cat. no. 103.
The present frieze depicts Buddha Shakyamuni and Maitreya raising their right hands
in abhayamudra, the gesture of reassurance and safety. Both figures are ornately robed
in their respective dhoti, displaying the naturalistic attention to drapery characteristic
of the Gandharan period that persisted from earlier Graeco-Roman influences in the
region. The relief shows Maitreya accompanied by a young, unidentified ascetic while
Vajrapani, identified by the thunderbolt in his left hand, stands directly behind Buddha,
looking over his shoulder. Maitreya is regarded as the future Buddha, and as such, the
present relief depicts Buddha Shakyamuni, the present Buddha, alongside the future
Buddha, reassuringly presenting both the security of the present era and projecting
future prosperity and peace in the era of Maitreya.

140 PART II