Lot 61. A schist figure of Avalokiteshvara, Ancient region of Gandhara, circa 4th century. Estimate US$ 15,000 - 20,000 (€14,000 - 18,000). Photo: Bonhams.

Standing slightly flexed with right knee bent forward, his robe fastened around his waist by knotted rope, its folds cascading across his muscular form and pooling by his ankles, in his right hand he holds a wreath, and his face bears a quite, confident expression. 16 in. (40.6 cm) high

Note: Identified by his size and the wreath in this hand, this figure would have flanked the right side of a preaching Buddha, reflected in a stylistically related triad published in Ingholt, Gandharan Art in Pakistan, New York, 1957, pp. 120-1 & no. 254. Miyaji has demonstrated in his study of twenty such panels that, as part of the Buddhist triad, these garland-holding figures can be more concretely identified as Avalokiteshvara ("Iconography of the Two Flanking Bodhisattvas in the Buddhist Triads from Gandhara", in East and West, vol. 58, no 1/4, December 2008, pp. 123-56). As such, they likely serve as the iconographic precedent for the Avalokiteshvara Padmapani ('lotus holder') first mentioned in later Mahayana texts and ubiquitous throughout Pala and Early Himalayan art.

Provenance: Private French Collection, 1970-2008
Sotheby's, New York, 19 September 2008, lot 262
Private American Collection

Bonham's. INDIAN, HIMALAYAN & SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART, 16:00 EDT - NEW YORK