A SCHIST FIGURE OF MAITREYA, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA

Pakistan, Taxila, Kusha…

Description

A SCHIST FIGURE OF MAITREYA, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA Pakistan, Taxila, Kushan period, 2nd-3rd century. Sculpted standing atop a rectangular base, Maitreya’s right hand raised in abhaya mudra and the left hand holding a kundika. Dressed in pleated robes, the deity’s serene face is detailed with almond shaped eyes and full lips forming a gentle smile. His wavy hair is gathered in a double-looped topknot, backed by a circular nimbus. Provenance: Old Austrian private collection. A collector’s label to the back, ‘Taxila, Oktober 1983’. Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, losses, nicks, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations, and few structural cracks. Weight: 2,799 g Dimensions: Height 31.8 cm Fitted with a metal stand for suspension. (2) Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s New York, 19 September 2002, lot 18 Price: USD 11,353 or approx. EUR 18,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A gray schist figure of Maitreya, Gandhara, 2nd-3rd century, lot 18 Expert remark: Compare the similar form, large nimbus, and the related size (38.7 cm).

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A SCHIST FIGURE OF MAITREYA, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA Pakistan, Taxila, Kushan period, 2nd-3rd century. Sculpted standing atop a rectangular base, Maitreya’s right hand raised in abhaya mudra and the left hand holding a kundika. Dressed in pleated robes, the deity’s serene face is detailed with almond shaped eyes and full lips forming a gentle smile. His wavy hair is gathered in a double-looped topknot, backed by a circular nimbus. Provenance: Old Austrian private collection. A collector’s label to the back, ‘Taxila, Oktober 1983’. Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, losses, nicks, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations, and few structural cracks. Weight: 2,799 g Dimensions: Height 31.8 cm Fitted with a metal stand for suspension. (2) Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s New York, 19 September 2002, lot 18 Price: USD 11,353 or approx. EUR 18,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A gray schist figure of Maitreya, Gandhara, 2nd-3rd century, lot 18 Expert remark: Compare the similar form, large nimbus, and the related size (38.7 cm).

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Estim. 200 - 400 EUR

A PAIR OF SCHIST AND TERRACOTTA HEADS OF BUDDHA, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA A PAIR OF SCHIST AND TERRACOTTA HEADS OF BUDDHA, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA Kushan period, 2 nd-4 th century. The gray schist head with a solemn expression detailed with bow-shaped lips, heavy-lidded eyes, and a raised circular urna beneath wavy hair encompassing a raised ushnisha. The molded terracotta head of buddha set with a serene expression with full lips, elegantly arching bows, and a head band topped by a seated figure. Provenance: Austrian private collection. Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age, with wear. Signs of weathering and erosion, losses, and chips. Weight: 311 g (total incl. stand) Dimensions: Height 7.1 cm (largest excl. stand) Mounted on plexiglass display stands.

Estim. 600 - 1 200 EUR

A SCHIST HEAD OF A BODHISATTVA, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 3RD – 4TH CENTURY A SCHIST HEAD OF A BODHISATTVA, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 3RD – 4TH CENTURY Finely modeled, the elegant face with almond shaped eyes below arched brows, and full lips below a slender moustache, the hair arranged neatly and contained with a pleated turban. With an associated stand. (2) Provenance: A private collection in Slovenia. Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Wear, obvious losses, nicks, encrustations, and signs of weathering and erosion. Weight: 5,054 g (incl. stand) Dimensions: Height 26 cm (excl. stand), 30 cm (incl. stand)

Estim. 600 - 1 200 EUR

A SCHIST FRIEZE DEPICTING GARLAND BEARERS, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 2ND- 3RD CENTURY A SCHIST FRIEZE DEPICTING GARLAND BEARERS, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 2ND- 3RD CENTURY Two putti support the weight of a large wreath weighed down by large blossoms and fruits. Each figure carved in the nude with the hair swept back. Provenance: A private collection in Slovenia. Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Wear, obvious losses, nicks, encrustations, and signs of weathering and erosion. Weight: 6,708 g (excl. stand) Dimension: Height 33 cm (excl. stand) With an associated stand. (2) Literature comparison: Compare a closely related frieze, Gandhara, 2nd-3rd century, in the collection of the British Museum, museum number 1880.883. Auction comparison: Compare a closely related frieze, Gandhara, 2nd-3rd century, length 28.5 cm, at Christie’s, 12 September 2012, lot 501 (sold for USD 2,750).

Estim. 3 000 - 6 000 EUR

A MONUMENTAL GRAY SCHIST FIGURE OF MAITREYA A MONUMENTAL GRAY SCHIST FIGURE OF MAITREYA India, style of ancient Gandhara. Standing on a rectangular pedestal with two large floral medallions separated by three Hellenistic columns to the front and a sheaf of wheat to one side. He is wearing a diaphanous dhoti with finely carved folds, tied at the waist with a rope belt, billowing scarves and a pair of sandals. He holds the iconic kamandalu, here in the form of a water flask, mostly hidden in his remaining hand and suspended on a thick rope. His serene face shows heavy-lidded almond-shaped eyes below gently arched brows, centered by a raised circular urna, all above a broad nose and full bow-shaped lips. His hair is neatly arranged in wavy locks and secured by a beaded headband. The head is backed by the remnants of a once circular nimbus. Provenance: From a noted private collection in the United Kingdom and thence by descent. Rosebery's, London, 24 June 2014, lot 2032, sold for GBP 11,960 or EUR 21,800 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing) and described as " A large grey schist figure of a standing bodhisattva, Gandhara, 2nd/3rd century". A noted private collector, acquired from the above. Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age, showing ancient wear, soil encrustation, extensive signs of weathering and erosion with corresponding losses. There are a few minor structural cracks, some of which may have old fills. There is also a single perforation below the left shoulder. The left hand and most of the halo are lost. Generally, this would all be as expected for an ancient schist sculpture. Weight: 167.3 kg (incl. stand) Dimensions: Height 165.5 cm (incl. stand) and 140 cm (excl. stand) Mounted on a fitted stand. (2) Maitreya is considered the Buddha of the future. When the dharma is forgotten on Earth, he will descend from the Tushita Heaven, where he resides, to be born in our realm as the next Buddha. His iconic water vessel, the kamandalu, is found in many different contexts within Indian sculpture, but is almost always a symbol of fertility and life. It is an apt visual icon, therefore, for Maitreya's role as a progenitor of future peace and order. When he is born on Earth, Maitreya is depicted in rich robes similar to that of the historical Gautama Buddha, prior to his renunciation of worldly goods. His vestments in the present portrayal include a foliate collar, the main medallion closely resembling the two found on the pedestal, a rope-work necklace with (remnants of) makara-head pendant, and a cord with an amulet box (mostly lost) of a type still in use in South Asia. In the Gandharan period, Maitreya was considered as the most important Bodhisattva.

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