**This item is heavy/oversized and will require 3rd party shipping. Please inquire about shipping cost prior to bidding.**

Central Asia, Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan, Gandharan Empire, ca. 1st century CE. An absolutely stunning gray schist bust of Buddha as the Indian Prince Siddhartha, heavily adorned in a bejeweled headdress, layered necklaces, and lion's head earrings, all rendered at a monumental scale. His face is sensuously and realistically carved, with gently arched brows, large, almond-shaped eyes cast downward, a narrow nose, a symmetrical brow ridge, and a handlebar moustache atop thin, closed lips. Half of his thick coiffure is piled neatly atop his head in an ushnisha, while the other half cascades down to his shoulders in lush waves. Buddha was born to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life and the ephemeral pleasures of the material world in order to live as a wandering ascetic. This example depicts Buddha before he cast off earthly pleasures, as a young man opulently dressed. Size: 13" W x 18" H (33 cm x 45.7 cm); 25" H (63.5 cm) on included custom stand.

This is an amazing and naturalistic carving from the period of Greco-Buddhist art. The Gandharan Empire made itself wealthy in part by controlling lucrative trade along the mountain passes between China in the East and the Near East and Mediterranean in the West; a great deal of this wealth went into local patronage of artisans and art. In the first century CE, Buddhism became fashionable amongst Gandharan elites, and the art produced at this time depicting the Buddha is some of the most striking Buddhist images from the past. This artistic tradition also reflects the conquest of Alexander the Great and the introduction of styles from all sides, blended into a uniquely Gandharan tradition, which this Buddha exemplifies. The curly hair of this sculpture and others from the same tradition were likely influenced by the Belvedere Apollo (ca. 330 BCE).

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This item is heavy/oversized and will require 3rd party shipping. Please inquire about shipping cost prior to bidding.

Provenance: private Hawaii collection, acquired 2000 to 2010

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#177462

Fragment of a larger piece. Chipping with some loss to nose, forehead, and shoulders. Some light surface wear as shown, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, excellent with impressive preservation of detail.