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A RARE GOLD REPOUSSÉ VOTIVE PLAQUE OF BUDDHA, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 1ST-4TH CENTURY
奥地利
12月16日 晚上6点 开拍 /6天19小时
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Description

A RARE GOLD REPOUSSé VOTIVE PLAQUE OF BUDDHA, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 1ST-4TH CENTURY

Kushan Empire. Constructed of finely hammered gold, the figure depicted seated in dhyanasana with both hands resting in his lap in dhyana mudra, clad in a voluminous robe that cascades from his shoulders and gathers around the legs. His face, serene in expression, distinguished with elongated eyes centered by a subtle urna, a broad nose, and full lips. The richly chased, wavy hair arranged in an elegant topknot. The contour of the shaped plaque pierced with small apertures.

Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.
Condition: Good condition with surface wear and manufacturing irregularities. Light warping and minute tears. Few minor nicks, light surface scratches, and occasional small dents. The gold surface with some darkened areas, mostly to the reverse.

Weight: 16.6 g
Dimensions: Height 10.8 cm
Gold: circa 14-16 carats

The ancient region of Gandhara, between the first and fourth centuries, occupied a strategic position along the transcontinental trade networks linking the Mediterranean world, Persia, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Under the Kushan Empire, particularly during the reign of Kanishka I in the second century, the region controlled a substantial segment of the Silk Road, emerging as a pivotal crossroads of economic, artistic, and religious exchange. Gold, imported from Central Asia, southern India, and the Roman Empire, circulated extensively as both a primary medium of commerce and a potent emblem of power, prosperity, and imperial legitimacy. Kushan coinage, meticulously struck in gold, functioned not merely as currency but as an ideological instrument articulating royal authority and the cosmopolitan character of the empire.

Within the Buddhist context of Gandhara, gold assumed profound spiritual and symbolic significance. It embodied notions of purity, wisdom, and enlightenment, virtues intrinsically associated with the attainment of nirvana. Sacred relics, particularly those enshrined within stupa reliquaries, were frequently embellished with gold leaf or accompanied by diminutive golden votive figures. Moreover, from the second century onward, with the emergence of the anthropomorphic image of the Buddha, gold was employed in his depiction, whether as gilded surfaces or as delicately chases plaques, underscoring his transcendent luminosity and divine radiance. For a comprehensive study of the presence of gold and its significance in the development of Buddhist art in ancient Gandhara, see David Jongeward, Buddhist Art of Gandhara, in the Ashmolean Museum, 2019.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related stone figure of the Buddha, depicted in a similar meditative posture and displaying analogous drapery and facial features, form the archaeological site of the Takht-i-Bahi Buddhist monastery, in the Peshawar Museum, illustrated in John Marshall, Buddhist art of Gandhara, 1960, pl. 98, fig. 135.

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拍品估价:3,000 - 6,000 欧元 起拍价格:3,000 欧元  买家佣金: 30.00%

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