Lot 242. Rare statue de Bouddha Shakyamuni en schiste gris, Pakistan, ancienne region du Gandhara, IIème-IIIème siècle. Hauteur : 125 cm. (49 ¼ in.). Estimate: EUR 50,000 - EUR 70,000. Price realised EUR 62,500. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019

Il est représenté debout en samabhanga sur un piédestal orné d’un bodhisattva assis flanqué d’adorants. Il est vêtu d’une robe monastique. Sa main droite est enabhayamudra. Son visage est empreint de sérénité. Un halo est placé derrière sa tête ; accidents et restaurations, socle.

AN IMPORTANT GREY SCHIST FIGURE OF BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI, PAKISTAN, ANCIENT GANDHARA REGION, 2ND-3RD CENTURY

Provenance: French private collection, acquired from Galerie Ponati, Paris, 12 June 1982.

Note: With the growing popularity of Mahayana Buddhism around the second century large detached images were sculpted alongside narrative friezes. This fine standing Buddha is characteristic of the high point of Gandharan art as represented in the refinement of the carving. The elegant treatment of the drapery subtly reveals the underlying physique of his body.