
Mark Rasmussen
International Director
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Sold for US$4,450 inc. premium
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International Director

Head of Sale, Specialist
犍陀羅 二/三世紀 片岩以沙供佛圖石碑
Of tall proportions, this panel portrays a delightful moment in the life of Buddha, retold by Ingholt: "It was routine for the Buddha at a certain time of the day to wander around in quest of food. Once when he was doing this in Rajagriha, with his begging bowl held out before him, he met two small boys playing in the road. One of these moved as if to make an offering, but having nothing else at hand, he took a good fistful of dust and dropped it into the bowl saying that it was barely flour. The Buddha was much impressed by this childish act of piety and prophesied that the boy would become a mighty Buddhist monarch in some future life." (Ingholt, Gandharan Art in Pakistan, New York, 1959, pp.80-1.) This story was later interpreted to identify the child as the great Buddhist emperor Ashoka (304-232 BCE) in a previous life. Other depictions of this scene are found in ibid., nos.110-1; Kurita, Gandharan Art, Vol.1, Tokyo, 1988, pp.178-81, nos.351-8; and Sun & He, A History of Gandhara Civilization, Beijing, 2009, p.389, nos.7-128-30.
Provenance
Sotheby's, New York, 21 September 1995, lot 232
The Estate of Benjamin M. Rice II, New York