
Mark Rasmussen
International Director
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Sold for US$15,075 inc. premium
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International Director

Head of Sale, Specialist
犍陀羅 二/三世紀 片岩彌勒菩薩與信徒石碑
A confident Maitreya sits above a lion-footed throne venerated by followers indicative of ancient Gandhara's cosmopolitan civilization. Immediately to the right stands a yavani, of Greek origin, holding a spear. Yavani were royal attendants charged with the safekeeping of a king's bows and quivers. They are first mentioned in early Buddhist literature by the Lalitavistara Sutra (cf. Ingholt, Gandharan Art in Pakistan, New York, 1957, nos.39A-B). Immediately to the left is a heavily clad young man with long locks tied in a distinctive looped topknot. Behind him are a pair of donor figures holding clusters of flowers. They have distinctive tonsures and garments, including a long-sleeved undergarment, which Ingholt suggests indicate the men are foreigners to Gandhara (Ingholt, Gandharan Art in Pakistan, New York, 1957, pp.161-2).
The panel is well-carved and ranks among superior Gandharan friezes, which are often taller like the present lot. Similarly carved and proportioned friezes are published in ibid., no.95 and Kurita, Gandharan Art, Vol.1, Tokyo, 1988, pp.58, 179 & 275, nos.108, 352 & 586. Also see similar compositions and pilasters on panels in the British Museum (Zwalf, Gandharan Sculpture, London, 1990, pp.104 & 139, nos.172 & 228.)
Provenance
Property from the Estate of Richard B. Gump, San Francisco
Sotheby's, New York, 28 October 1991, lot 281
The Estate of Benjamin M. Rice II, New York