2. A SCHIST HEAD OF A BUDDHA Ancient region of Gandhara, 4th…

Lot no. 2

Estimate: €4,000 - €6,000

Sale date : 12/12/2025 at 11:00 AM

Description

2. A SCHIST HEAD OF A BUDDHA Ancient region of Gandhara, 4th century 22 cm (8 5/8 in.) high The Buddha's wavy hair, rendered in thick locks, is swept upward from a widow's peak into a high chignon, surmounted by the ushnisha, the cranial protuberance symbolising his enlightened wisdom. Almond shaped eyes that are half open render the Buddha with an air imbued with quiet introspection. Traces of the raised urna between the brows, remain visible. These iconographic features mark the figure as the Buddha, his presence mediated through a distinctly anthropomorphic lens, a development that finds its roots in the classical Greco-Roman world. The naturalism indebted to Hellenistic influence is further enhanced by the soft modelling of the full cheeks, the delicately formed cupid-bow lips, and the aquiline nose. Comparable with a schist head held at the Harvard Art Museum (1998.315). Published Madeleine Hallade, Gandharan Art of North India: And the Graeco-Buddhist Tradition in India, Persia, and Central Asia, New York, 1968, p. 79, pl. 56. Provenance Previously in the collection of Dr. J.R. Belmont (1896-1981), Basel. Sotheby's, London, 27 February 1967, lot 18. Private Collection, Belgium, acquired from the above; Thence by descent. 犍陀羅四世紀片岩佛首著錄 Madeleine Hallade，《Gandharan Art of North India: And the Graeco-Buddhist Tradition in India, Persia, and Central Asia》，紐約，1968 年，第 79 頁，圖版 56 來源曾屬於 J.R. Belmont（1896–1981年）珍藏，巴塞爾蘇富比，倫敦，1967年2月27日，拍品18 比利時私人收藏，購於上者後由家族傳承

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An Important Belgian Collection A Life of Collecting Ancient Worlds

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12/12/2025 : 11:00 AM

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