Description
A GRAY SCHIST FIGURE OF AN ATLAS, GANDHARA, 2ND - 3RD CENTURY
Powerfully and naturalistically carved seated with wings raised behind the shoulders, remnants of a column above the head, both hands resting on respective knees, the protruding belly with a deeply recessed navel, the face with thickly curled hair and moustache, genitalia and pubic hair barely covered by the short loincloth.
Provenance: Arthur Huc (1854-1932). Marcel Huc, inherited from the above. Thence by descent within the same family. In 1954, L. Magniette, bailiff of the court in Toulouse (Huissier), was ordered to compile a complete inventory of the collection inherited by Marcel Huc from his father, Arthur Huc, the so-called “Inventaire Huc”. The present lot is listed in this inventory as follows: “Un Bacchus ou Atlas Gandhara schiste – Haut: 52 cm.” (a Bacchus or Atlas Gandhara schist – height 52 cm). A copy of the inventory list and cover page are accompanying this lot. Arthur Huc was the chief editor of La Dépêche du Midi, at the time the leading newspaper in Toulouse, France. He was also an accomplished art critic and early patron of several artists, including Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec. At the same time, Arthur Huc was a keen collector of Asian art, a passion that he inherited from his legendary ancestor évariste Régis Huc, also known as the Abbé Huc (1813-1860), a French Catholic priest and traveler who became famous for his accounts of Qing-era China, Mongolia and especially the then-almost-unknown Tibet in his book “Remembrances of a Journey in Tartary, Tibet, and China”.
Condition: Some breaks, losses and erosions as visible on the images at . Remnants of an old varnish coating. Extensive weathering, some wear (especially to the belly). Few structural cracks, especially a circular one at the belly. The nose and forehead with minor old wax fill.
French Export License: Certificat d’exportation pour un bien culturel Nr. 185440 dated 30.06.2017 has been granted and is accompanying this lot.
Weight: 37.2 kg
Dimensions: Height 51.5 cm
Note the finely incised details such as fingernails, slightly raised nipples and earlobes with jewelry. While such figures are generally identified as “Atlas,” the Greco-Roman prototype is never equipped with wings. Alfred Foucher suggests the interpretation as a yaksha, likewise supporting the base of a structure, such as the present lot, with wings borrowed from Victory. It would thus represent an amalgamation of iconographic elements from Indian and classical sources, captivating with the singular attentiveness of his gaze. He seems ready to jump up and soar to the aid of a devotee, or perhaps in defense of the faith. The incised horizontal lines on the base seem to accent the sheer mass of his body pushing against the ground. His elbows bend slightly forward to support the bulk of his torso. The contours of his muscles, bones and joints echo those of his knees, thus balancing the composition. The deeply carved abdomen takes advantage of the distinct texture of the stone, thus maximizing Atlas’ superhuman proportions.
Only few sculptures communicate so clearly the Classical legacy in Gandharan art. His mature, bushy face recalls the portraits of Greek and Roman gods and leaders, while his herculean musculature evokes the athletic ideal. Furthermore, the Atlant type stems from a tradition in classical architecture of depicting male and female figures supporting architectural superstructures best known from The Ten Books on Architecture by Vitruvius, dedicated to Emperor Augustus (see Rowland (trans.), Vitruvius: Ten Books on Architecture, Cambridge, 1999, pp. 83 & 135).
In the Gandharan context, similar examples in stucco surviving in situ line the veneer of stupa bases at Taxila and Hadda, recording the placement of such figures at Buddhist sites. Wh