Page 40 - Christies DEVOTION IN STONE Gandharan Art From a Japanese Collection Sept 23 2020 NYC

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A MONUMENTAL GRAY SCHIST BUST OF A BODHISATTVA
ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 3RD-4TH CENTURY CE
36º in. (92.1 cm.) high

$400,000-600,000
PROVENANCE:
Spink & Son, Ltd., London, by 1985.
Important private collection, Japan, by 1990.
EXHIBITED:
Tokyo, Fujii Gallery, Gifts from Ancient - selected by N. Horiuchi,
9-23 February 1988, no. 3.
LITERATURE:
I. Kurita, Gandharan Art, vol. II, Tokyo, 1990, p. 12, fig. 13.
M. Akira, Gandharan Art and Bamiyan Site, Tokyo, 2006, p. 50, no. 16.

Depicting a youthful bodhisattva in all of the finery of an Indian prince, this the second to fourth centuries of the Common Era. The facial features here
exquisitely carved bust demonstrates the masterful artistry of the sculptors are both naturalistic and idealized, creating a pensive expression as Maitreya
of the ancient region of Gandhara. Although the lower body is missing, the looks down on his devotees. His stylized curls are partially gathered into a top
proportions of the remaining torso indicate it was once larger than life- knot and adorned with pearls and gems, with thick locks of hair falling onto
sized. Bodhisattvas are those who have achieved enlightenment, but forgo his right shoulder. The figure’s torso is sculpted to the ideal human proportions
nirvana in order to compassionately serve suffering, sentient beings. In and dressed in intricately carved jewelry and amulet cases. The monastic robe
Mahayana Buddhism, once prominently practiced in the ancient region of clings to his left shoulder, but does not conceal his muscular form as it bulks
Gandhara, cult images of bodhisattvas became an important dimension of into folds across his arm. The intact nimbus establishes a pleasing symmetry,
local worship, most commonly depicting Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of balancing the sculpture even without its lower half.
Compassion, and Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, as well as images of
the Buddha himself. Images of Avalokiteshvara and Maitreya can typically be This representation can be compared to other figures of bodhisattvas believed
distinguished iconographically: Avalokiteshvara is often depicted with a flower to be Maitreya. A standing figure at the Norton Simon Museum survives in
in hand and donning a turban, while Maitreya frequently carries a water pot its near complete form (F.1975.04.1.S), with major losses only at his hands
and wears his hair fastened into a top knot or with curled locks adorned with and presumptive water pot. While the Norton Simon example is smaller in
a diadem. While the identification of this bust cannot be certain without the scale, the figure is styled in a similarly positioned robe and jewelry set, hinting
lower half of the figure, it appears with some confidence to be a representation at a close resemblance of what the present bust once resembled in full. A
of Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future. comparably monumental figure of a bodhisattva was sold at Christie’s New
York on 13 September 2016, lot 229. Despite only being a fragment of the
The naturalistically modeled features of this bodhisattva, characteristic of original sculpture, the wondrously preserved details of this bust, from the
the Gandharan period, draw from the Hellenistic influences radiating from talismanic armlet on Maitreya’s right bicep to the perfectly defined creases in
the earlier Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom (150-130 BC) in the region. Centuries his facial brow line, mark this piece as an important and impressive rendering
of refinement and syncretism with successive South Asian empires resulted of early Buddhist art.
in an international sculptural style, at the pinnacle of sophistication around

Cover and illustration from I. Kurita, Gandharan Art, , vol. II, Tokyo, 1990, p. 12, fig. 13.

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