Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Works of Art
Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Works of Art
Property From a Private East Coast Collection
A Gray Schist Head of Buddha, Ancient Region of Gandhara, 2nd/3rd Century
Auction Closed
September 20, 05:33 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Property From a Private East Coast Collection
A Gray Schist Head of Buddha
Ancient Region of Gandhara, 2nd/3rd Century
Height 7⅛ in. (18.1 cm)
his face with peaceful expression, heavy lidded almond-shaped eyes downcast in meditation, straight nose, and bow-shaped mouth recessed at the corners, his hair arranged in delicate wavy strands and drawn up into a domed ushnisha
Collection of James and Marilynn Alsdorf.
Sotheby's New York, 23rd March 2000, lot 115.
The loose waves of hair cascading over the topknot along with the almond-shaped eyes and narrow nose are inspired by images of the youthful Apollo from the Greco-Roman tradition. While the harmonious proportions are inspired by Classical styles, they have been applied to the most popular subject of cult images represented during this time in the region of Gandhara. The heart of Gandhara located in the Peshawar region in modern-day Pakistan, the place where this Buddha head was fashioned, served as the crossroads between the east and west, blending the local Indic Buddhist practices with the Hellenistic styles that traveled along these trade routes (P. Pal, A Collecting Odyssey. Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago, 1997, cat. no. 102). Other examples of this type, showing refined and elegant features, such as the present sculpture, are illustrated in W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, 1996, no. 39.