Lifesize Gandharan Schist Head of Buddha

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Ancient / Ethnographic - Holiday Edition

By Artemis Gallery

Dec 5, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-12-05 10:00:00 2019-12-05 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Ancient / Ethnographic - Holiday Edition https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/ancient-ethnographic---holiday-edition-4710
What to give this holiday season? Ancient & Ethnographic Art of course! Our special Holiday auction features hundreds of unique finds from all over the world. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  Central Asia, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Gandharan Empire, ca. 200 BCE to 100 CE. One of the most beautiful Gandharan Buddhist sculptures we have seen, this is an expertly carved grey schist head of Buddha, presenting a sensitively modeled face with solemn, half-closed eyes of an elegant almond shape, a long aquiline nose, and a gentle smile with a thin mustache above it. The hair, styled over the large ushnisha, is depicted as wavy and elaborately coiffured. The Buddha's facial planes are veristically contoured, this realistic quality complemented by details such soft 'fleshy' lips and heavy eyelids. This is a special example of Greco-Buddhist art that demonstrates a strong syncretism between eastern and western traditions. Size: 8.7" W x 10.5" H (22.1 cm x 26.7 cm); 17.45" H (44.3 cm) on included custom stand.
  
  The Gandharan Empire made itself wealthy in part by controlling lucrative trade along the mountain passes between China in the East and the Near East and Mediterranean in the West; a great deal of this wealth went into local patronage of artisans and art. In the first century CE, Buddhism became fashionable amongst Gandharan elites, and the art produced at this time depicting the Buddha includes some of the most striking Buddhist images from the past. Their artistic tradition also reflects the conquest of Alexander the Great and the introduction of styles from all sides, blended into a uniquely Gandharan tradition, which this Buddha exemplifies. Alexander the Great conquered Gandhara in 330 BCE and with the help of the Indo-Greek kings introduced classical traditions that would influence Gandharan art for the following seven centuries. The stylized wavy Mediterranean hair and top knot that derive from the Apollo Belvedere (330 BCE), as well as the sensitive modeling of the tranquil face displayed on this piece, for example, exhibit this classical influence.
  
  Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Dr. James Reardon collecton, New York, USA, 1980s
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #137817

  Condition

  Piece is a fragment from a larger statue, with losses to back of head, lower part of the ears, and roughness to the underside of neck. The rest of the surface has small nicks, chips, and scratches commensurate with age, with small areas of white mineral deposits. Overall excellent preservation of form and detail.
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