Pakistan - Gandhara region - Bust representation of Buddha, 1st century AD. J. -C.

Pakistan / Gandhara area
1st century AD
Buddha bust

Sandstone
12 cm
Former American private collection
small visible accidents and earthy deposit

Interesting representation of Buddha from Gandhara in gray schist. It is figured in high relief emerging in the center of a thick disc in the middle of lotus petals or solar rays which can thus symbolically represent the spiritual radiance of the Awakened One. The arms are stuck alongside the body, the forearm and the left hand resting on a balustrade. It features a powerful torso and a face characteristic of Gandharan art. The eyes with half-closed lids frame a flat nose overlooking a small mouth. The forehead is adorned with the uma, the hairstyle in long locks falling on the shoulders and brought back in a high bun at the top of the head forming the ushnisha.

At the crossroads of the civilizations of Iran, the Greek world, India and nomadic civilizations, Gandhara was for sixteen centuries an almost obligatory passageway for the caravans which linked the West to China. A Hellenistic background maintained by the trade in luxury products exported from the Mediterranean basin, mingles with Parthian and Indian influences in favor of a Buddhist iconography of great sensitivity.

Dimensions :
- Width : 14 cm