
Mark Rasmussen
International Director
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Sold for US$200,000 inc. premium
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International Director
犍陀羅 三/四世紀 片岩佛首
This masterpiece of Gandharan sculpture elegantly depicts the Buddha with a sensitively modeled face of slightly fleshy cheeks, a bow-shaped mouth, and softly contoured nose. His resplendent wavy locks pulled over the ushnisha convey the master sculptor's pursuit of realism inspired by Greco-Roman aesthetics. His features are wonderfully preserved. The heavy-lidded eyes survive in superb high relief, and the ears remain wonderfully modeled with precise contours and thick lobes.
Compare a closely related example sold at Christie's, New York, 19 March 2013, lot 201, both sculpted in a similar schist of a darker and finer grain that was highly prized for the level of detail a sculptor could achieve and therefore often reserved for the most important commissions. Further comparison can be made with the head of a standing Buddha in the British Museum published in Zwalf, Gandharan Sculpture 1999, p.10, no.3, showing a similar treatment of the hair, and calm, nuanced expression.
Provenance
Graham Gallery, New York, December 1961
American Private Collection