Northern India, Uttar Pradesh. Finely carved and sensitively modeled with a serene expression marked by neatly incised downcast eyes below arched brows as well as full bow-shaped lips forming a subtle smile, flanked by long pendulous earlobes, the hair arranged in thick snail-shell curls over the ushnisha.

Provenance: From the private collection of Jean Dumoulin, Overijse, Belgium, acquired in Thailand during the mid-1990s. A copy of a provenance statement, written and signed by Jean Dumoulin, dated 2 August 2024, and confirming the above, accompanies this lot. Jean Dumoulin developed a great passion for Asian culture as a young man, and frequently traveled the Asian continent. His private collection of Asian works of art comprises sculptures and objects he acquired in Burma, Thailand, and on the European market.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, obvious losses, structural fissures, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations, nicks, scratches.

Weight: 10,283 g (excl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 24.8 cm (excl. stand)

With an associated metal stand. (2)

Deriving from the perceived Golden Age of Indian art and culture, this head of Buddha is modeled with a gentle and serene expression, pendulous earlobes, rounded cheeks, and almond-shaped eyes with well-defined eyelids. His hair is arranged in the customary tight curls, surmounted by a flat ushnisha. In the fourth and fifth centuries, during the reign of the Gupta dynasty in northern India, sculptors formulated several of the features that would become standard for Buddha images. Snail-shell curls replaced other hairstyles, and downcast eyes and a relaxed mouth became the norm. Smaller Buddha images in this style are known to have traveled to Thailand and other distant realms, where they were used as models for locally made icons.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related sandstone head of Buddha, Gupta period, 5^th century, in the Brooklyn Museum, accession number 1998.178.4. Compare a closely related sandstone head of Buddha, Gupta period, 5^th-6^th century, in the Carnegie Museum of Art, accession number 73.40.2. Compare a closely related sandstone head of Buddha, Gupta period, late 5^th-early 6^th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1989.236.1.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams Paris, 14 June 2022, lot 3
Price: EUR 9,562.50 or approx. EUR 10,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A sandstone head of Buddha, Sarnath, Gupta period, 5^th/6^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject and modeling of the sensitively carved face. Note the different size (13.5 cm) and that the figure hails from Sarnath, which like Mathura was an important center of Gupta art.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2012, lot 735
Price: USD 8,125 or approx. EUR 10,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A beige sandstone head of Buddha, India, Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh, Gupta period, 5^th-6^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject and modeling of the sensitively carved face. Note the similar size (22.2 cm) and different type of sandstone, from Rajsthan or Madhya Pradesh as opposed to Mathura like the present lot.