Gandhara Schist Great standing Buddha in slate-schist – Gandharan art

Large standing Buddha sculpture in slate, deriving from Gandhāran art of the Kushan period, stylistically dated to the late 2nd to early 3rd century CE. The figure exhibits the major characteristics of Gandharan Buddhist sculpture: serene face, uṣṇīṣa, ūrṇā, elongated earlobes, and ample monastic robes treated with deep successive undulations. The left hand preserved holds the edge of the mantle; the right hand, now missing, was very likely raised in the abhayamudrā gesture of protection, in line with the principal known standing Buddha types from Gandhāra. The work is carved from a single block of slate. The reverse, deliberately less finished, belongs to the older conception of sculpture. The ancient pedestal preserves, notably, a floral rosette decoration, a motif well documented in the ornamental vocabulary of Gandhāra. Stylistic study places the work with the major productions of central Gandhāra and the Peshawar basin, notably the artistic milieu of Takht-i-Bāhī, Sahrī-Bahlol, Charsadda and Jamālgarhī, without a precise site provenance being claimable. Good state of preservation for an archaeological sculpture of this antiquity. Significant losses and ancient cracks visible, notably on the right arm and at the pedestal. Examination of the work has revealed neither modern sculptural reconstruction, nor puttying or restoration intended to recreate the missing parts. Modern display plinth. Provenance: old collection of R. M., Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Belgium, acquired between 1979 and 2009; then by descent to Marie-Anne Lefevre in 2023. A provenance document accompanies the work. The sculpture has undergone a thorough study combining material examination, scientific bibliography, and comparisons maintained notably at the British Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is accompanied by its certificate of authenticity and expertise issued by Olivier Maréchal – MIMOSA SA. video link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/2w55vt8utm0lwkfn7fkin/ANkSk5Hsc9hArH1ly4kn7F0?rlkey=71uqt9hul74hthur3vv6oss0e&dl=0

Estimate:$39,059.44

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