A GRAY SCHIST FIGURE OF AN ATLAS, GANDHARA, 2ND - 3RD CENTURY
Powerfully and naturalistically carved seated with wings raised behind the shoulders, remnants of a column above the head, both hands resting on respective knees, the protruding belly with a deeply recessed navel, the face with thickly curled hair and moustache, genitalia and pubic hair barely covered by the short loincloth.

Provenance: Arthur Huc (1854-1932). Marcel Huc, inherited from the above. Thence by descent within the same family. In 1954, L. Magniette, bailiff of the court in Toulouse (Huissier), was ordered to compile a complete inventory of the collection inherited by Marcel Huc from his father, Arthur Huc, the so-called "Inventaire Huc". The present lot is listed in this inventory as follows: "Un Bacchus ou Atlas Gandhara schiste - Haut: 52 cm." (a Bacchus or Atlas Gandhara schist - height 52 cm). A copy of the inventory list and cover page are accompanying this lot. Arthur Huc was the chief editor of La Depêche du Midi, at the time the leading newspaper in Toulouse, France. He was also an accomplished art critic and early patron of several artists, including Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec. At the same time, Arthur Huc was a keen collector of Asian art, a passion that he inherited from his legendary ancestor Evariste Regis Huc, also known as the Abbe Huc (1813-1860), a French Catholic priest and traveler who became famous for his accounts of Qing-era China, Mongolia and especially the then-almost-unknown Tibet in his book "Remembrances of a Journey in Tartary, Tibet, and China".
Condition: Some breaks, losses and erosions as visible on the images at www.zacke.at. Remnants of an old varnish coating. Extensive weathering, some wear (especially to the belly). Few structural cracks, especially a circular one at the belly. The nose and forehead with minor old wax fill.
French Export License: Certificat d'exportation pour un bien culturel Nr. 185440 dated 30.06.2017 has been granted and is accompanying this lot.

Weight: 37.2 kg
Dimensions: Height 51.5 cm

Note the finely incised details such as fingernails, slightly raised nipples and earlobes with jewelry. While such figures are generally identified as "Atlas," the Greco-Roman prototype is never equipped with wings. Alfred Foucher suggests the interpretation as a yaksha, likewise supporting the base of a structure, such as the present lot, with wings borrowed from Victory. It would thus represent an amalgamation of iconographic elements from Indian and classical sources, captivating with the singular attentiveness of his gaze. He seems ready to jump up and soar to the aid of a devotee, or perhaps in defense of the faith. The incised horizontal lines on the base seem to accent the sheer mass of his body pushing against the ground. His elbows bend slightly forward to support the bulk of his torso. The contours of his muscles, bones and joints echo those of his knees, thus balancing the composition. The deeply carved abdomen takes advantage of the distinct texture of the stone, thus maximizing Atlas' superhuman proportions.

Only few sculptures communicate so clearly the Classical legacy in Gandharan art. His mature, bushy face recalls the portraits of Greek and Roman gods and leaders, while his herculean musculature evokes the athletic ideal. Furthermore, the Atlant type stems from a tradition in classical architecture of depicting male and female figures supporting architectural superstructures best known from The Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius, dedicated to Emperor Augustus (see Rowland (trans.), Vitruvius: Ten Books on Architecture, Cambridge, 1999, pp. 83 & 135).

In the Gandharan context, similar examples in stucco surviving in situ line the veneer of stupa bases at Taxila and Hadda, recording the placement of such figures at Buddhist sites. Whilst maintaining a similar function and a clearly Western look, the Gandharan version differs from the classical prototype in at least three ways. Firstly, the common inclusion of wings, secondly the primarily ornamental rather than architectural function of the figure, which perhaps prompts the third: the ease and buoyancy of being with which he is shown supporting the superstructure. Moreover, while we have evidence from which to understand his context at Buddhist sites, his precise identity remains a mystery. He has been called a disguised yaksha, a lesser Greek god, and a garuda, yet there is no archaeological or textual foundation to underpin any of these claims (again see Foucher, L'art Greco-Bouddhique du Gandhara, 1905, p. 208, and Errington, The Western Discovery of the Art of Gandhara and the Finds of Jamalgarhi, London, 1987, p. 67). Perhaps, the term "Atlas" ties him too closely to classical prototypes, at the risk of obscuring added layers of meaning in the unique Gandharan context.

Literature comparison: For a further discussion of winged Atlas figures from Gandhara, see P. Pal, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, vol 1, fig. 35, p. 68. For similar examples of winged "Atlas" figures, see W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture at the British Museum, 1996, pp. 206-211, fig. 355-368. Two other examples survive in the Claude de Marteau collection in Brussels and the Peshawar Museum (see Kurita, Gandharan Art, vol. II, Tokyo, 1990, figs. 448 & 453, pp. 155 & 157).

Auction result comparison: Compare with a related statue of Atlas at Christies New York in Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art, 15 March 2016, lot 274, sold for USD $118,750 and another at Bonham's New York in Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art, 17 March 2014, lot 66, sold for USD $245,000.

灰色片岩阿特拉斯，健陀羅，二至三世紀
阿特拉斯像雕刻逼真、雄偉有力，肩膀後面張開翅膀，頭頂上方殘留頂柱，雙手分別撐在膝蓋上，腹部圓鼓凸出，肚臍深凹，臉上捲曲濃密的頭髮和小鬍子，腰布覆蓋著下身。

來源：此像源自法國阿瑟∙胡克（1854-1932）收藏。馬爾塞∙胡克繼承，家族保存。1954年1954年，圖盧茲法院的法警L. Magniette受命對馬爾塞∙胡克從其父親阿瑟∙胡克（即所謂的" Inventaire Huc"）繼承的藏品進行完整的清點。 藏品清單中可見現有拍品。隨附清單拷貝。此像源自法國阿瑟∙胡克（1854-1932）收藏。馬爾塞∙胡克繼承，家族保存。阿瑟∙胡克先生曾是圖盧斯市《快訊》極受歡迎的時政記者，直至1932年去世，他還是一個著名的藝術評論家。同時，他也開始收藏亞洲藝術。其收藏可追溯到額法李斯特∙雷吉斯∙胡克，又名阿貝∙胡克（1813-1860，中文名古伯察Evariste Regis Huc），一個法國傳教士，他在蒙古、西藏及中國的游記《鞑靼西藏旅行记》使他成名。
品相：如www.zacke.at上的細圖所示，有些斷裂、損失和腐蝕。舊清漆塗層的殘留物。 大面積風化，有些磨損（尤其是腹部）。少量結構性裂紋，特別是腹部的圓形裂紋。 鼻子和額頭上有少量舊蠟填充。
法國出口許可：隨附2017年6月30日《出口文化財產》第 185440號文件

重量：37.2 公斤
尺寸：高51.5厘米