197 - STANDING LIME STONE BODHISATTVA KASHMIR 12TH CENTURY

STANDING LIME STONE BODHISATTVA KASHMIR 12TH CENTURY Dimensions: Height 9,6 cm Wide 5,4 cm Depth 2,4 cm Weight: 175 grams with base A fragmentary standing Bodhisattva carved in pale limestone, wearing an elaborate crown and pendulous earrings, with a circular halo rising behind the head. The face is softly modelled with almond-shaped eyes and a gentle expression, while the surviving torso shows broad shoulders, a narrow waist and a short lower garment secured by a girdle. Both arms are incomplete and the surface is extensively weathered. Medieval Kashmir was an important centre of Buddhist artistic production whose sculptural language combined local traditions with broader North Indian and earlier Gandharan inheritances. Images produced in the region were influential far beyond the valley, particularly in the transmission of Buddhist forms into the western Himalayas and Tibet. Although small and fragmentary, this figure retains the refined facial treatment and ornamental emphasis associated with Kashmiri devotional sculpture. The pale stone, worn surface and surviving halo give the work a quiet archaeological character.