A SANDSTONE TORSO OF A YAKSHI, INDIA, MATHURA, KUSHAN PERIOD, 1ST-2ND CENTURYFinely carved standing in tribhanga, narrow-waisted and with a belly button, her arms raised, wearing a dhoti secured at the waist with a beaded belt, and folds falling down to the front, the arms with numerous bracelets, and a beaded necklace between her voluminous breasts.Provenance: From the Sally Hunter and Ian Posgate collection, Badgemore Grange, United Kingdom, by repute acquired in the London trade during in the 1980s or 1990s and thence by descent. RD collection, Paris, France, acquired from the above. Sally Hunter and Ian Posgate built their collection of paintings, objects, china, and furniture over the past 30 years in their home, Badgemore Grange. The property was bought in 1970 by Ian Posgate (1932-2017), an insurance underwriter at Lloyds of London. The couple shared a love for India and its decorative arts. They visited the subcontinent together many times and built a sizeable collection of objects, mainly through shops and salerooms in London.Condition: Very good condition,mensurate with age. Extensive wear and losses, dents, and nicks. Signs of weathering and erosion, minor structural fissures. Some remnants of soil.Weight: 12.3 kg (incl. stand)Dimensions: Height 42.7 cm (excl. base) and 47.3 cm (incl. base)Mounted to a metal stand. (2)The sense of dynamismand power in the stance, the masterful transformation of stone into the suppleness of youthful, voluptuous flesh barely interrupted by clothing, as well as touches of naturalism are all stylistic characteristics of female figures made during theearly 2nd century.Yakshis are nature spirits and symbols of fertility and the depiction of them reveals the traditional Indian ideal of female beauty.Related sandstone reliefs of Yakshis dating back to the Kushan period, 1st and 2nd century, were found in a Buddhist stupa and monasteryplex in the village of Sanghol. These stone figures and other artifacts from the Kushan period are now displayed in the Sanghol Archeological Museum, Punjab.Literatureparison:Compare a related sandstone bas-relief figure of Yakshi putting on a necklace, India, Mathura, Kushan period, 1st-2nd century, in the Sanghol Archeological Museum, Punjab.pare a related sandstone figure of a female devotee, 74.5 cm, India, Mathura, Kushan period, 1st century, in the Cleveland Museum of Art, accession number 2012.19.pare a related red sandstone figure of Yakshi, 44.3 cm, India, Mathura, Kushan period, in the Ackland Art Museum, object number 84.2.1.pare a related sandstone figure of Yakshi Shalabhanjika, 119 cm, India, Mathura, 2nd century, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number IM.72-1927.pare the style of the belt to a figure published in Stanislaw J. Czuma, Kushan Sculpture: Images from Early India, Cleveland, 1985, p. 93, fig. 30.Auction result