A SCHIST HEAD OF BUDDHA


ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, CIRCA 3RD CENTURY14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm) high
|犍陀羅 約三世紀 片巖佛首 Successfully evoking Buddha's enlightened countenance, this beautifully carved and polished schist head is a superb example of Gandharan sculpture. Gandharan sculpture's Greco-Roman legacy and its evolution towards abstraction are seamlessly juxtaposed here with naturalistic curves producing the nasal sidewall, nostrils, and chin meeting crisp ridges defining the lips, philtrum, eyelids, and eyebrows. Radiating from the high arching forehead Buddha's locks undulate in symmetrical waves from a central parting in a manner that is shared by three closely related examples in the British Museum (see Zwalf, Gandhara Sculpture, Vol. II, London, 1996, pp.9, 10, & 32, nos.1, 3, & 39). Meanwhile, the present example's distinctive broad curling locks above the high-domed ushnisha are reflected in other examples within a French private collection and the Tokyo National Museum (see Kurita, Gandharan Art, Vol.II, Tokyo, 2003, pp.11 & 92, nos.12 & 232). Provenance French Private Collection, acquired in the 1960s ArtCurial, Paris, 11 June 2018, no.162