Grey Schist Bodhisattva Gandhara
Grey Schist Bodhisattva Gandhara, we are honoured to present such unique wealth of material, and this is a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity for both new and established collectors to acquire a piece of Gandharan art. Combining ancient Royal patronage with Royal provenance, this piece from this collection, encapsulate a moment in time of artistic and spiritual integrity. It is forever timely in its embodiment of compassion and exchange of ideas and ideals between East and West.
Large grey schist figure of a Bodhisattva.
Gandhara, circa 4th century AD.
Height: 111 cm.
The large figure of the Bodhisattva is depicted standing on a meticulously crafted square base. He holds his right hand in the gesture of warding off fear, his left hand stretched along his side. He wears an ankle-length dhoti secured around his waist with elaborate drapery and a heavier sanghati open at the front to reveal his bare chest. The drapery is executed with skill and naturalistic attention, a characteristic peculiar to the Gandhara style which dates back to the Greco-Roman sculptural influence in the region. The bust is adorned with multiple necklaces and carries prayers of Iranian tradition.
The face with almond-shaped eyes and a moustache is framed by an elaborate hairstyle, the hair forms a chignon held in place with a precious headband, long locks fall on the shoulders enhanced by the large halo which encloses and highlights the refined face with a benevolent expression.
Provenance:
-Collection of a Prince, collected between 1964 and 1970. (1)
-Christie’s New York, “Gandharan Buddhist Art from the collection of a Prince” on 20 September 2007, lot 253. See photos 5 and 6.
-EU private collection, purchase from above in 2007.
Note: (1) The collector, born a prince himself, encountered the late King Zahid Shah of Afghanistan on a diplomatic mission and made the personal acquaintance with the art historian Arthur Upham Pope (1881-1969). He focused on collecting Gandharan art as a young man between 1964 and 1970.
His Holiness, The Dalai Lama, kindly agreed to write an introduction for a private publication of a collection of Gandharan stucco and terracotta heads separately formed by the Prince entitled Echoes of Alexander the Great: Silk Route Portraits from Gandhara, London, Eklisa Anstalt 2000.
Note:
The Greco-Buddhist art or Gandhara art is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between Ancient Greek art and Buddhism. It had mainly evolved in the ancient region of Gandhara, located in the northwestern fringe of the Indian subcontinent.
The series of interactions leading to Gandhara art occurred over time, beginning with Alexander the Great’s brief incursion into the area, followed by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka converting the region to Buddhism.[citation needed] Buddhism became the prominent religion in the Indo-Greek Kingdoms. However, Greco-Buddhist art truly flowered and spread under the Kushan Empire, when the first surviving devotional images of the Buddha were created during the 1st-3rd centuries CE.[1] Gandhara art reached its zenith from the 3rd-5th century CE, when most surviving motifs and artworks were produced.
Gandhara art is characterized by Buddhist subject matter, sometimes adapting Greco-Roman elements, rendered in a style and forms that are heavily influenced by Greco-Roman art. It has the strong idealistic realism and sensuous description of Hellenistic art, and it is believed to have produced the first representations of Gautama Buddha in human form, ending the early period of aniconism in Buddhism.
The representation of the human form in large sculpture had a considerable influence, both to the south in the rest of India, and to the east, where the spread of Buddhism carried its influence as far as Japan.
