Page 67 - 2020 Sept 22 Himalayin and Indian Works of Art Sotheby's NYC Asia Week

9/2/2020 Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Works of Art | Sotheby's

Indian, Hi ma layan & Southeast Asian Works of Art
New York |22 Sep 2020 | 12:00 PM EDT

Lot 349

A GREY SCHIST SANDSTONE HEAD OF A BODHISATTVA , ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA ,
2ND/3RD CENTURY
Estimate: 80,000 - 120,000 USD

PROPERTY FROM A SPANISH COLLECTION
A GREY SCHIST SANDSTONE HEAD OF A BODHISATTVA
ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 2ND/3RD CENTURY

Height 19 ¾ in. (50 cm)

the bodhisattva with oval shaped face, heavy-lidded almond eyes articulated by broad arching eyebrows, a curling mustache
extending widely across the lips and rounded chin, the hair set in undulating waves across the forehead secured with a double-
looped knot with the ends cascading to either side in soft curls, wearing a double beaded diadem secured with a cylindrical bead
at center and flanked by two floral shaped beads

Provenance
Collection of a Spanish Ambassador, acquired in Pakistan in the 1960s

Catalogue Note
This highly attractive and monumental head is a superlative example of the Gandharan style of sculpture that flourished in the
northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from roughly the 1st through the 5th centuries of the Common Era. The region of
Gandhara, which comprised parts of modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, was strategically located at the hub of the ancient Silk
Routes and was an area of prime military and commercial significance in antiquity. The region was particularly influenced by
Hellenistic culture resulting from the military campaign of Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C.E. The legacy of Hellenism
that he left in his wake was integrated with local traditions creating a multi-cultural lexicon out of which was born the Gandharan

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