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265
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Gandhara Buddha. Schist. Gandhara region, 3rd - 6th century.
See original version (French)
265
-
Gandhara Buddha. Schist. Gandhara region, 3rd - 6th century.
See original version (French)
Estimate €8,000 - €12,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Gandhara Buddha.
Schist.
Gandhara region, 3rd - 6th century.
Height 62 cm.
(Damage, missing parts).
Provenance:
Beagle Gallery, London, 1991.
Private collection, France.
Galerie Hioco, Paris, 2023.
Bonham's, Paris, Arts d'Asie, 1 June 2025, lot 102.
Gandhara is a region between Peshawar, the Swat Valley and Taxila in north-west Pakistan, conquered in 330 BC by Alexander the Great, who introduced the Hellenistic style that had a major influence on the statuary of the region for more than seven centuries. This Buddha is a fine example of the style often described as "Greco-Buddhist" in Gandhara, combining Buddhist iconography with classical Hellenistic treatment.
During this period, the Gandhara region was very prosperous, benefiting from a key location on the silk trade routes. Under the Kushan dynasty, numerous Buddhist sites were created in the region, most of them organised around a monastery and a stupa decorated with narrative reliefs describing the life of the Buddha. From the early 3rd century onwards, devotional representations of the Buddha and boddhisattvas gradually made their appearance. These non-narrative sculptures evolved into monumental representations in the 4th century.
The Buddha is depicted standing on a plinth with two figures on either side of a small altar or stupa. A four-leaf clover is engraved on one side of the base. Characteristic of these syncretic representations, the Buddha is both dressed in a pleated drape reminiscent of Hellenistic statuary, and wearing the urna and ushnisha bun in the tradition of Buddhist iconography.
Expert: A.R.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Ref. : 8016 - 121
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