Page 98 - Bonhams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art March 2019

886
A SCHIST HEAD OF BUDDHA
ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, CIRCA 3RD CENTURY
14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm) high
$80,000 - 120,000
犍陀羅 約三世紀 片巖佛首

Successfully evoking Buddha’s enlightened countenance, this beautifully
carved and polished schist head is a superb example of Gandharan
sculpture. Gandharan sculpture’s Greco-Roman legacy and its evolution
towards abstraction are seamlessly juxtaposed here with naturalistic
curves producing the nasal sidewall, nostrils, and chin meeting crisp
ridges defining the lips, philtrum, eyelids, and eyebrows.

Radiating from the high arching forehead Buddha’s locks undulate in
symmetrical waves from a central parting in a manner that is shared
by three closely related examples in the British Museum (see Zwalf,
Gandhara Sculpture, Vol. II, London, 1996, pp.9, 10, & 32, nos.1, 3, &
39). Meanwhile, the present example’s distinctive broad curling locks
above the high-domed ushnisha are reflected in other examples within
a French private collection and the Tokyo National Museum (see Kurita,
Gandharan Art, Vol.II, Tokyo, 2003, pp.11 & 92, nos.12 & 232).

Provenance
French Private Collection, acquired in the 1960s
ArtCurial, Paris, 11 June 2018, no.162

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