Page 76 - 2021 March 17th, Indian and Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art, Christie's New York City

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE ENGLIGH COLLECTION
426
A GRAY SCHIST FIGURE OF A BODHISATTVA
ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 3RD-4TH CENTURY CE
54æ in. (139 cm.) high
$150,000-250,000
PROVENANCE:
Private Collection, United Kingdom, by 1984.

古犍陀羅 三/四世紀 灰片岩雕菩薩立像
來源:
私人珍藏，英國，不晚於1984年。

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, personal 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.

Standing Bodhisattva Maitreya (Buddha of the Future); ancient region of
Gandhara, 3rd century; 64 ¼ in. high; The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Purchase, Lita Annenberg Hazen Charitable Trust Gift, 1991.75.