Page 8 - Christies DEVOTION IN STONE Gandharan Art From a Japanese Collection Sept 23 2020 NYC

An Interview With Isao Kurita

Isao Kurita has become widely recognized in the field of as the origin of Buddhist art, and the marriage of the
Gandharan art for his scholarly contributions, including Greek sculptural style with Buddhism, came back vividly
the publication of several seminal works. Here, Kurita to my senses, along with an image of my old teacher’s
discusses his interest in Gandhara, the history of collecting face. Strong and sharp carving, how beautiful it was!
Gandharan art in Japan, and how he went about writing his Since that day long ago, I have been captivated by the art
two-volume work, Gandharan Art, first published in 1988 and of Gandhara.
1990, which are considered among the most ambitious and
comprehensive surveys of Gandharan sculpture available to Were there many collectors of Gandharan art in Japan
collectors today, and which feature all of the works in the when you started studying and collecting Gandharan
following collection. art? Why do you think Gandharan art was popular in
Japan? Who were the big collectors of Gandharan art
at that time?
IK: Even in the 1970s and 80s, there were already a few
collectors of Gandharan art in Japan. A group of art dealers
and even a Japanese department store were instrumental
in introducing Gandharan art to Japan. Some of the early
and important collectors were Buddhist temples and
organizations, and others were connoisseurs such as the
painter, Ikuo Hirayama (1930-2009) [who’s collection was
illustrated by Katsumi Tanabe in Gandharan Art from The
Hirayama Collection, Tokyo, 2007]. Another important
collector was Seijiro Matsuoka (1894-1984), who was the
founder of the Matsuoka Museum of Art in Tokyo. Such
collectors often bought Gandharan works from dealers in
Japan or at international auctions in the West.

The art of Gandhara became very popular in Japan
because it is a country with a strong Buddhist faith, and
even school children today are familiar with Gandhara.
Although the aesthetic beauty of the sculptural style is
one of the factors for its popularity in Japan, perhaps
the most important reason is that it represents the
origin of Buddhist figural art, and is so didactic in its
representations of the life and stories of the Buddha.

What inspired you to start your work on your two-
volume book, Gandharan Art?
IK: One of the most seminal scholars in the history of
Gandharan art was Alfred Foucher (1865–1952), a French
scholar who wrote an early and important source, L’Art
Gréco-Bouddhique du Ghandhāra in 1905. It was an
extremely rare book, and nearly impossible to find in the
bookstores of Tokyo. I therefore visited the National Diet
When did you first begin to study Gandharan art, and
Library in Tokyo, and luckily was able to make a copy of
what drew you to it?
the book. I read both volumes of this extraordinary book,
in French, very carefully. It took me four years to read,
IK: Forty-eight years ago, I spent a week in Pakistan on my
spending one hour every morning! However, I was happy
way back home from a business trip in France. I happened to
to be immersed in such an important book. Reading
see a Gandharan relief of the birth of the Buddha in a small
through Foucher was the beginning of my research into
antique shop in Rawalpindi. The word “Gandhara,” which I
the art of Gandhara.
had learned in junior high school, and which I remembered
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