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A LARGE AND IMPORTANT GRAY SCHIST FIGURE OF MAITREYA, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA
奥地利
2024年12月17日 开拍
拍品描述
A LARGE AND IMPORTANT GRAY SCHIST FIGURE OF MAITREYA, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA

Expert’s note:
The deity can be identified by his loop topknot, a hairstyle common to Maitreya images. However, the inclusion of a crescent moon in the beaded headband securing the topknot is unusual and suggests the subject may in fact be Hindu god Shiva, for whom the crescent moon on the head is a standard iconographic feature, as referred to by his epithet Chandrashekara (‘having the moon as his crest’). See for example a slightly later pink sandstone linga depicting Shiva with a crescent moon on the chignon, dated ca. 500 AD, in the Walters Art Museum, accession number 25.250.

Kushan period, 3rd-4th century. Finely carved standing atop a rectangular lotus base with Maitreya seated in dhyanasana flanked by Brahma and Indra who are kneeling and imploring The Buddha to preach, enclosed within a pair of Hellenistic columns to the front and a floral medallions to the side, wearing fine pleated robes and billowing scarves, richly adorned with beaded and floral jewelry. His face bearing a serene expression marked by half-opened almond-shaped eyes and full lips. His wavy hair is gathered in a double-looped topknot secured by a beaded headdress, backed by a nimbus.

Provenance: From the private collection of Marie Louise Alexienne Vanleew (1929-2024), Belgium, acquired in the early 1960s and thence by direct descent to her grandson, the present owner of this lot. A copy of a provenance statement written and signed by the present owner, confirming the above, accompanies this lot.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, obvious losses, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations, structural fissures, chips, nicks, and scratches. Old repairs and touchups to the sides, robe, and feet.

Dimensions: Height 115.5 cm (excl. stand), 117.5 cm (incl. stand)

Mounted on a metal stand. (2)

The present schist figure is of exceptional sculptural quality. The dramatic visual contrast created by the robe's tension around the body is exceptional. Pulled tightly in vertical and horizontal pleats around the left shoulder and arm, the robe then swoops diagonally across the thighs and slack hems curl above the right knee. This arrangement in Gandharan sculpture is typically reserved for bodhisattvas, with Avalokiteshvara and Maitreya being the most prominently worshipped (see Isao Kurita, Gandharan Art, vol. II, Tokyo, 1990, pp. 14, 33, 49, nos. 15, 71, 117).

Images of bodhisattvas reveal the syncretism of Indic and Hellenistic styles, as is depicted in the present figure as an Indian noble bedecked with a jeweled crown and necklace. The almond-shaped eyes and naturalistic modeling of the body nevertheless underscore the influences of the Classical traditions of art.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related schist figure of Maitreya, also with a crescent moon adorning the chignon, dated 3rd-4th century, 100 cm high, in the Lahore Museum, object number G-131. Compare a closely related schist figure of Maitreya, dated ca. 3rd century, 80.7 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 13.96.17.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 23 March 2022, lot 448
Price: USD 100,800 or approx. EUR 100,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large grey schist figure of seated Maitreya, ancient region of Gandhara, 3rd-4th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and manner of carving with similar topknot centered by a crescent moon. Note the seated pose and the size (77.5 cm).

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拍品估价:10,000 - 20,000 欧元 起拍价格:10,000 欧元  买家佣金: 35.00%

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