17th Oct, 2024 11:00

TWO-DAY AUCTION: Fine Asian Art, Buddhism and Hinduism

 
  Lot 181
 

181

A LARGE AND IMPORTANT SCHIST FIGURE OF MAITREYA, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA

Sold for €49,400

including Buyer's Premium


Lot details

Kushan period, 2nd-3rd century. Superbly carved, standing in sambhanga and holding a kundika in his lowered left hand, wearing fine pleated robes and billowing scarves, richly adorned with beaded and floral jewelry. His mustachioed face bearing a serene expression marked by half-opened almond-shaped eyes and full lips. His wavy hair is gathered in a double-looped topknot secured by a beaded headdress, backed by a circular nimbus.

Provenance: From the private collection of Marie Louise Alexienne Vanleew (1929-2024), Belgium, acquired in the early 1960s and thence by direct descent to her grandson, the present owner of this lot. A copy of a provenance statement written and signed by the present owner, confirming the above, accompanies this lot.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, obvious losses, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations, old repairs and touchups, structural fissures, chips, nicks, scratches.

Dimensions: Height 146 cm (excl. stand), 151 cm (incl. stand)

Mounted on an associated stand. (2)

The present schist figure of Maitreya is of exceptional sculptural quality. The statue’s refinement and elegant restraint place it in the 2nd-3rd centuries, often considered the high period of Gandharan art. The dramatic visual contrast created by the robe's tension around the body is exceptional. Pulled tightly in vertical and horizontal pleats around the left shoulder and arm, the robe then swoops diagonally across the thighs and slack hems curl around the right knee. This arrangement in Gandharan sculpture is typically reserved for bodhisattvas, with Avalokiteshvara and Maitreya being the most prominently worshipped (see Isao Kurita, Gandharan Art, vol. II, Tokyo, 1990, pp. 14, 33, 49, nos. 15, 71, 117).

Maitreya is one of the most popular bodhisattvas depicted in Gandharan sculpture. Also known as the Loving One, he is identified by the kundika, or sacred water flask, held in his lowered left hand. His rise in popularity coincided with the tenants of Mahayana Buddhism, for which the role of the bodhisattva, and his ability to transfer his own merit to others became paramount. In his preordained role as the Buddha of the Future, Maitreya promises redemption and salvation for devoted practitioners of the faith.

Images of bodhisattvas reveal the syncretism of Indic and Hellenistic styles, as Maitreya is depicted as an Indian noble bedecked with a jeweled crown and necklace. The almond-shaped eyes and naturalistic modeling of the body nevertheless underscore the influences of the Classical traditions of art.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related figure of Maitreya, Gandhara, 2nd-4th century, 119 cm high, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number IS.100-1972. Compare a closely related figure of a Bodhisattva, Gandhara, 2nd-3rd century, 150.5 cm, in the Art Institute Chicago, reference number 2015.445.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2008, lot 518
Price: USD 217,000 or approx. EUR 295,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An important gray schist figure of Maitreya, Gandhara, 2nd-3rd century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject, modeling, and manner of carving. Note the smaller size (137 cm) and the halo inscribed with the Buddhist creed.

 

Kushan period, 2nd-3rd century. Superbly carved, standing in sambhanga and holding a kundika in his lowered left hand, wearing fine pleated robes and billowing scarves, richly adorned with beaded and floral jewelry. His mustachioed face bearing a serene expression marked by half-opened almond-shaped eyes and full lips. His wavy hair is gathered in a double-looped topknot secured by a beaded headdress, backed by a circular nimbus.

Provenance: From the private collection of Marie Louise Alexienne Vanleew (1929-2024), Belgium, acquired in the early 1960s and thence by direct descent to her grandson, the present owner of this lot. A copy of a provenance statement written and signed by the present owner, confirming the above, accompanies this lot.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, obvious losses, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations, old repairs and touchups, structural fissures, chips, nicks, scratches.

Dimensions: Height 146 cm (excl. stand), 151 cm (incl. stand)

Mounted on an associated stand. (2)

The present schist figure of Maitreya is of exceptional sculptural quality. The statue’s refinement and elegant restraint place it in the 2nd-3rd centuries, often considered the high period of Gandharan art. The dramatic visual contrast created by the robe's tension around the body is exceptional. Pulled tightly in vertical and horizontal pleats around the left shoulder and arm, the robe then swoops diagonally across the thighs and slack hems curl around the right knee. This arrangement in Gandharan sculpture is typically reserved for bodhisattvas, with Avalokiteshvara and Maitreya being the most prominently worshipped (see Isao Kurita, Gandharan Art, vol. II, Tokyo, 1990, pp. 14, 33, 49, nos. 15, 71, 117).

Maitreya is one of the most popular bodhisattvas depicted in Gandharan sculpture. Also known as the Loving One, he is identified by the kundika, or sacred water flask, held in his lowered left hand. His rise in popularity coincided with the tenants of Mahayana Buddhism, for which the role of the bodhisattva, and his ability to transfer his own merit to others became paramount. In his preordained role as the Buddha of the Future, Maitreya promises redemption and salvation for devoted practitioners of the faith.

Images of bodhisattvas reveal the syncretism of Indic and Hellenistic styles, as Maitreya is depicted as an Indian noble bedecked with a jeweled crown and necklace. The almond-shaped eyes and naturalistic modeling of the body nevertheless underscore the influences of the Classical traditions of art.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related figure of Maitreya, Gandhara, 2nd-4th century, 119 cm high, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number IS.100-1972. Compare a closely related figure of a Bodhisattva, Gandhara, 2nd-3rd century, 150.5 cm, in the Art Institute Chicago, reference number 2015.445.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2008, lot 518
Price: USD 217,000 or approx. EUR 295,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An important gray schist figure of Maitreya, Gandhara, 2nd-3rd century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject, modeling, and manner of carving. Note the smaller size (137 cm) and the halo inscribed with the Buddhist creed.

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