Page 66 - 2020 December 2 Bonhams Arts of Devotion bronzes and Stone carvings

1032
A SCHIST FIGURE OF BUDDHA
ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 3RD/4TH CENTURY
89 cm (35 in.) high

HKD2,000,000 - 3,000,000

犍陀羅 三/四世紀 片岩佛陀像

This near life-size sculpture of Buddha depicts the sage deep in meditation above
a simple cushion. His robe’s naturalistic folds weave, wrap, and slacken around his
muscular torso, creating a dramatic visual contrast between their busy negotiations
and the stillness of his expression. A pair of Buddhist followers flank the Future
Buddha Maitreya in front of the cloth bound platform, completing a classic
iconographical arrangement in Gandharan depictions of Buddha. Another example
is in the British Museum, showing similar treatment of Buddha’s robe and throne,
published in Zwalf, Gandhara Sculpture, London, 1996, no.26.

Below an attractive splay of wavy locks, the face is softly featured with an
endearing roundness. The arches of the brow betray Gandharan art’s evolution
towards abstraction throughout the 3rd-to-5th centuries (cf. Behrendt, The Art of
Gandhara, New York, 2013, pp.68-72). Also consistent with this timeline is the
Buddha’s stoic expression—his mind seemingly transcended from this mortal
plane. The lot compares favorably to other seated examples that approach its size
sold recently at auction, including Sotheby’s, New York, 19 March 2014, lot 32,
and Christie’s, New York, 16 September 2014, lot 212; 19 March 2013, lot 202;
and 18 March 2015, lots 4005 & 4015.

With universal appeal among collectors, the Gandharan style is a fascinating and
accomplished idiom, testament to the cross-cultural origins and early spread of
Buddhist art. Created by ateliers working in the Greco-Roman style that populated
the region following Alexander the Great’s invasion of modern-day Pakistan,
Afghanistan, and Western China in 327 BCE, it drew on Mediterranean sculptural
traditions when catering to the demand from local Buddhist communities for
carved stone monuments and iconic statuary. The Gandharan style, in turn, formed
the precedent for the earliest Buddhist images in China, via contact and exchange
across Central Asian trade routes.

Provenance
Private French Collection

64 | BONHAMS