Northern Wei, early 5th century AD. A gilt-bronze buddha figure kneeling on a throne, flanked by lions, flames radiating from the upper arms, pleated robe, hands clasped in the samadhi mudra; the figure's composition originates in the Gandharan style and displays Central Asian features. 406 grams, 13cm (5"). Acquired for the ‘Buckingham Collection’ by the late Nik Douglas (1944-2012), renowned author, curator and Asian art expert; the collection formed from the early 1960s to early 1970s; much of the collection displayed at the major exhibition ‘The Buddha Image: Out of Uddiyana’, Tibet House, 22 West 15th Street, New York, 16 September-20 October 2010, extended to 16 November and again to 7 January 2011; where the collection of one hundred pieces was publicly valued at US$ 15M; this piece was scheduled to be included in an exhibition titled ‘On the Silk Route; Birth of The Buddha’, to be held in London from November 2012, but sadly his death prevented this; accompanied by copies of several press releases and articles for the exhibition, including Artnet News, This Week in New York, Huffpost, Buddhist Art News, and copies of the relevant London exhibition catalogue pages; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no.163205-10082. Gandhara was a principal gateway through which Buddhism spread to China, with the connection to Gandharan Buddhist statuary and sculpture evident in the style of this piece. [A video of this lot is available to view on TimeLine Auctions website.]