A MONUMENTAL GRAY SCHIST FIGURE OF MAITREYA, KUSHAN PERIOD, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 2ND - 4TH CENTURY
Standing on a rectangular pedestal with two large floral medallions separated by three Hellenistic columns to the front and a sheaf of wheat to one side. He is wearing a diaphanous dhoti with finely carved folds, tied at the waist with a rope belt, billowing scarves and a pair of sandals. He holds the iconic kamandalu, here in the form of a water flask, mostly hidden in his remaining hand and suspended on a thick rope. His serene face shows heavy-lidded almond-shaped eyes below gently arched brows, centered by a raised circular urna, all above a broad nose and full bow-shaped lips. His hair is neatly arranged in wavy locks and secured by a beaded headband. The head is backed by the remnants of a once circular nimbus.


Provenance:
From a noted private collection in the United Kingdom and thence by descent.

Condition:
Good condition, commensurate with age, showing ancient wear, soil encrustation, extensive signs of weathering and erosion with corresponding losses. There are a few minor structural cracks, some of which may have old fills. There is also a single perforation below the left shoulder. The left hand and most of the halo are lost. Generally, this is all as expected for a schist sculpture nearly two thousand years old.

Weight: 167.3 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 165.5 cm (incl. stand) and 140 cm (excl. stand)

Mounted on a fitted stand. (2)


Maitreya is considered the Buddha of the future
. When the dharma is forgotten on Earth, he will descend from the Tushita Heaven, where he resides, to be born in our realm as the next Buddha. His iconic water vessel, the kamandalu, is found in many different contexts within Indian sculpture, but is almost always a symbol of fertility and life. It is an apt visual icon, therefore, for Maitreya's role as a progenitor of future peace and order. When he is born on Earth, Maitreya is depicted in rich robes similar to that of the historical Gautama Buddha, prior to his renunciation of worldly goods.

His vestments in the present portrayal include a foliate collar, the main medallion closely resembling the two found on the pedestal, a rope-work necklace with (remnants of) makara-head pendant, and a cord with an amulet box (mostly lost) of a type still in use in South Asia.

In the Gandharan period, Maitreya was considered as the most important Bodhisattva.


The two flower medallions
at the base of the present figure are closely related to a set of two flowers medallions found on a statue of Buddha Shakyamuni, which was part of a group of excavated Gandhara figures shipped to the United Kingdom at the beginning of the last century. See the image above, far right.


Literature comparison:

Compare a closely related figure of Maitreya with similar robes and floral medallions along the base, 80.7 cm high, dated c. 3rd century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 13.96.17. Compare also a closely related schist figure of a standing Maitreya, with similar robes and floral medallions along the base, dated 2nd-4th century, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, registration number IM.11-1910.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2008, lot 518
Price: USD 217,000 or approx.
EUR 285,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An important gray schist figure of Maitreya, Gandhara, 2nd/3rd century
Expert remark: Compare the related subject and carving with similar dhoti, scarves across the figure’s bare chest, and necklaces. Note the size (137 cm).


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 13 September 2016, lot 230
Price: USD 269,000 or approx.
EUR 317,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A gray schist figure of a standing Buddha, Gandhara, 2nd/3rd century
Expert remark: Compare the related floral medallions along the stone pedestal. Note the different subject and size (97.3 cm).


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 7 October 2019, lot 913
Price: HKD 1,100,625 or approx.
EUR 138,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A schist torso of a Bodhisattva, ancient region of Gandhara, 3rd/4th century
Expert remark: Compare the related manner of carving and modeling with similar dhoti, scarves across the figure’s bare chest, and necklaces. Note the size (80 cm).




健陀羅二至四世紀灰色片岩彌勒佛


貴霜帝國，二至四世紀。彌勒立於一個長方形的基座上，底座正面有兩個花卉紋。菩薩束髮，髮型捲曲，梳理有序垂於兩肩。額部較寬，眉間白毫，深目、高鼻、薄唇，顏貌端正，柔和圓潤的形制；上身袒露，肩披天衣，下著腰衣、繫腰帶，戴耳璫、項圈、臂釧、腕釧等飾物，足下著綴珠涼鞋。後有光背餘留。


來源：
英國著名的私人收藏，在同一家族保存。

品相：
狀況良好，有磨損、土壤結殼、大面積風化和侵蝕跡像以及相應的缺損。有一些輕微的結構裂縫，其中一些可能有小修。左肩下方還有一個穿孔。 左手和大部分光背遺失。

重量：167.3 公斤(含底座)
尺寸：高 165.5 厘米 (含底座) and 140 厘米 (不含底座)

支架固定 (2)


本尊片岩彌勒佛像
，雕塑品質非凡。二至三世紀是犍陀羅藝術的鼎盛時期。
彌勒佛
是釋迦牟尼佛的繼任者，將在未來娑婆世界降生成佛，將從兜率天降到人間，他右手掌上舉，左手朝下，意謂阿彌陀佛自淨土下生，救助眾生，接引極樂世界。當彌勒佛出生時，身著高貴豪華的殊妙服飾，流露王侯貴族的王子氣派，無疑是悉達多太子成佛前菩薩裝扮的完美體現。在犍陀羅時期，彌勒被認為是最重要的菩薩。


此像左手可能曾經有過一個水瓶
。古代婆羅門行者常持著水瓶，彌勒菩薩因其出身婆羅門，故特有此造形。梵天與婆羅門行者所持之瓶，象徵裝有甘露法水之不朽生命意義。


文獻比較:

比較一件非常相近的約三世紀彌勒佛像，有相似的長袍和底座，高80.7 厘米，收藏於大都會藝術博物館，館藏編號13.96.17。比較一件非常相近的二至四世紀彌勒佛像片岩像，有相似的長袍和底座，收藏於維多利亞和亞伯特博物館，館藏編號IM.11-1910。


拍賣比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2008年3月21日，lot 518
價格：USD 217,000（相當今日
EUR 285,000
）
描述：二至三世紀灰色片岩健陀羅彌勒佛像
專家註釋：比較相近主題、相似的裝飾、項鍊。請注意尺寸 (137 厘米)。


拍賣比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2016年9月13日，lot 230
價格：USD 269,000（相當今日
EUR 317,000
）
描述：二至三世紀灰色片岩健陀羅佛像
專家註釋：比較相近的 底座。請注意不同的主題和尺寸 (97.3 厘米)。


拍賣比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：香港邦翰斯，2019年10月7日，lot 913
價格：HKD 1,100,625（相當今日
EUR 138,000
）
描述：三至四世紀灰色片岩健陀羅菩薩像
專家註釋：比較相近的雕刻風格、相似的裝飾、項鍊。請注意尺寸 (80 厘米)。