Page 96 - September 20th 2021, Indian and Himalayan Art Christie's NYC

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE ENGLISH COLLECTION
442
A GREY SCHIST FIGURE OF A BODHISATTVA 古犍陀羅 三/四世紀 灰片岩雕菩薩立像
ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 3RD-4TH CENTURY CE
來源:
54æ in. (139 cm.) high 私人珍藏，英國，不晚於1984年。
$100,000-150,000
PROVENANCE:
Private collection, United Kingdom, by 1984.

The present figure of a bodhisattva is classic example of Gandharan
sculpture. While an identification cannot be certain without surviving
attributes, the figure might represent Maitreya, based on the hairstyle
generally reserved for this bodhisattva. If this is the case, the present
figure would have held a water vessel in his left hand. The iconic water
vessel, kumbha, is found in many different contexts within Indian
sculpture, but is almost always a symbol of fertility and life. Maitreya is
considered the Buddha of the future— when the dharma is forgotten on
Earth, he will descend from the Tushita Heaven to be born in our realm
as the next Buddha. Thus, the vessel is an apt visual icon for his role as
a progenitor of future peace and order.
When he is born on earth, Maitreya will be of Brahmin stock, and is
depicted in rich robes similar to those of the historical Gautama Buddha
prior to his renunciation of worldly goods. His vestments include a
beaded hair ornament, geometrically-incised torq, a beaded necklace,
and a cord with cylindrical amulet boxes of a type still in use in South
Asia. The heavy folds of his sanghati display the naturalistic treatment of
drapery characteristic of the Gandharan period that is a holdover from
the earlier Greek influence in the region. The muscular definitions of his
torso fully embody the virility of youth, while his handsome face, bearing
a curled mustache, indicates his accumulated wisdom. He stands upon
a base depicting Buddha in meditation among his devoted attendants.
The present bodhisattva may be compared with a similar figure in the
collection of the Royal Ontario Museum (acc. no. 939.18.1), a standing
figure of Maitreya at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 1991.75)
and a similarly-scaled gray schist torso of Maitreya sold at Christie’s
New York on 11 September 2019, lot 320. All works in reference exhibit
a comparable rendering of the figure’s robes, ornaments, and facial
features. The example at the Metropolitan Museum of Art features a
thematically similar base, with donor figures attending to a reliquary in
place of Buddha himself.