Scientific Analysis Report: A thermoluminescence analysis report issued by Oxford Authentication on 11 December 2006, based on sample number N206e11, sets the firing date of three samples taken between 1100 and 1700 years ago, consistent with the dating above. A copy of the report accompanies this lot.

Pakistan, 5^th-7^th century. Modeled seated with her right hand in the lap and her left hand raised as if engaged in a conversation. The face downcast with almond-shaped eyes below neatly incised brows, flanked by pendulous earlobes with slit, the loose curls of hair on the goddess’s head falling in ringlets over the shoulders, the hair adorned with a pearl diadem centered by a flower, the neck with magnificent jewelry, one necklace made of linked beads and a second one of leaf-shaped pendants surrounding a single lotus that echo her ringlets of hair.

Provenance: From a notable collector in London, United Kingdom.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, signs of weathering and erosion, obvious losses, nicks, scratches, old repairs to the fingers, minor touchups, chips, cracks, and expected firing flaws. Overall, fully consistent with the age of the sculpture.

Weight: 8.1 kg (incl. base)
Dimensions: Height 54 cm (incl. base), 45 cm (excl. base)

Mounted to a modern metal base. (2)

The ringlets falling over the goddess’ shoulders recall images from Gupta India, see a figure of a devotee with a related hair dress, dated to the 5th century, in the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay, accession number TC 56. The Gupta style itself was inspired by Gandharan prototypes, where elaborate coiffures are associated with princely bodhisattva statues. The fan of curls at the crown of her head, as well as the profusion of locks falling down behind, perhaps indicates that a wig, rather than natural hair, formed such an elaborate coiffure.

The strongly incised facial features bear similarities to clay sculptures from Ushkur (see a related terracotta head of a man, dated to the 6th to 7th century, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.85.193.1 and another head, dated to the 7th to 8th century, in The British Museum, museum number 1861,0728.15). The same dramatic line of the eyebrows, running down to the bridge of the nose, the large expressive eyes and sublime smile indicates a distinct style of beauty.

Hund, known in antiquity as Udabhandapura, was a small village in the Swabi district, situated on the right bank of the Indus River in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It was the Turk Shahi dynasty’s capital of Gandhara, and possibly functioned as a winter capital alternating with the summer capital of Kabul within the kingdom of Kapisa-Gandhara in the 7th to 9th century. Old relics and remains of ancient civilizations have been found in the village after excavation work was undertaken by the government in the recent past. The history and past glory of the Hund has been preserved by the local government which constructed a museum and a replica of the tower of Olympia. The tower watches over the mighty Indus River, commemorating Alexander the Great’s crossing of the Indus while staying in Hund during his final military campaign for the Indian subcontinent.

Expert’s note:
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Literature comparison:
Compare a related terracotta figure of a deity seated in Rajalilasana, Fondukistan, ca. 6th century, in the Musee Guimet, Paris, illustrated in Gies and Cohen, Serinde, Terre de Bouddha, Paris, 1995, p. 135. Compare a related statue of a female Devata from Hund, dated 6th-7th century, in the Museum of Oriental Art in Turin.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s Paris, 12 June 2012, lot 304
Price: EUR 23,750 or approx. EUR 29,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A terracotta bust of a celestial female attendant, Pakistan, Hund region, circa 8th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject, shape of the body, facial features, jewelry, and hair. Note the size (63 cm).