11th Apr, 2024 11:00

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

 
Lot 220
 

220

A RARE AND LARGE SCHIST HEAD OF A BODHISATTVA, ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 2ND-3RD CENTURY

Sold for €36,400

including Buyer's Premium


Lot details

Finely carved, the serene face with heavy-lidded almond-shaped eyes, elegantly arched brows centered by an urna, full lips, and a wavy mustache, flanked by pendulous ears suspending circular earrings. His wavy hair tied in a high chignon, secured by beaded and jeweled bands with two plaits falling on his shoulders. The neck adorned with a floral collar and beaded jewelry.

Provenance: A noted American private collector. Heather James Fine Art and Antiquities, Los Angeles, California, November 1999, acquired from the above. Lowell and April Blackfort, Beverly Hills, California, acquired from the above and thence by descent in the same family. The base inscribed ‘Gandara [sic!] Bodhisattva Head – 2nd/3rd century A.D.’ A copy of the original invoice addressed to Lowell and April Blankfort, dated 11 July 1999, confirming the dating above, and stating a purchase price of USD 40,000 or approx. EUR 68,000 (adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), accompanies this lot. Heather James Fine Art, located in California, established in 1996, boasts a large spectrum of genres including Buddhist, Impressionist and Modern Art. Over the years, the gallery has expanded into an international network with locations in London, New York, and Basel. The gallery placed works with some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Denver Art Museum, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Lowell Arnold Blankfort (1926-2015) was an American journalist and noted publisher. During his career, Mr. Blankfort visited hundreds of political hot spots around the world, from Afghanistan and Iran to Russia and Cuba, for major publications such as The Wall Street Journal. He reported on post-communism society in China, Taiwan and Eastern Europe. Mr. Blankfort also served as president of the United Nations Association.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, signs of extensive weathering and erosion, losses, chips, soil encrustations, structural cracks, and the nose with some losses.

Weight: 44.3 kg
Dimensions: Height 50.5 cm (excl. base), 62.5 cm (incl. base)

Mounted to a modern base. (2)

Of exceptional scale with a commanding presence, this head is a superlative example of the Gandharan style of sculpture that flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from roughly the 1st through the 5th centuries of the Common Era. The region of Gandhara, which comprised parts of modern day Pakistan and Afghanistan, was strategically located at the hub of the ancient Silk Routes and was an area of prime military and commercial significance in antiquity. The region was particularly influenced by Hellenistic culture resulting from the military campaign of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE. The legacy of Hellenism that he left in his wake was integrated with local traditions creating a multi-cultural lexicon out of which was born the Gandharan School of art, a unique amalgam of East and West. Gandharan sculptures, as seen in the present lot, are executed in a strongly ‘Classical’ Greco-Roman style that was applied to a purely Buddhist and Indic iconography.

The hybrid character of Gandharan art found powerful expression in Buddhism, a new religion that was founded in northern India towards the end of the first Millennium before the Common Era. The Buddhist creed, which placed emphasis on righteous and moral deeds as the path to salvation, was embraced by the cosmopolitan population of Gandhara and became the dominant religion in this area. Buddhist iconographic and artistic conventions were given eloquent form in the ateliers of Gandhara under the patronage of successive Indo-Greek rulers followed by the mighty Kushan emperors who oversaw the construction of hundreds of Buddhist temples and monasteries throughout their domain.

The elegantly modeled face of this bodhisattva displays the classic fusion of Indic and Hellenistic artistic traditions that characterized Gandharan art. The serene countenance with its contemplative and deeply spiritual expression is masterfully executed. The jeweled headdress is part of the rich suite of aristocratic accoutrements known as bodhisattvabharana, which indicated the deity’s divine identity and also acted as symbols representing the material and spiritual wealth to be gained by lay worshippers.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related schist head of a bodhisattva, dated 2nd-3rd century, 54.6 cm high, in the Walters Art Museum, accession number 25.265.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2012, lot 723
Price: USD 74,500 or approx. EUR 92,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A schist head of a bodhisattva, Gandhara, 2nd/3rd century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and manner of carving with similar expression and hairstyle. Note the much smaller size (30.5 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3078
Price: USD 275,000 or approx. EUR 311,000
Description: A large schist head of Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, 3rd/4th century
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling and manner of carving. Note that this head depicts Buddha but is of similar size (47.3 cm) to the present lot.

 

Finely carved, the serene face with heavy-lidded almond-shaped eyes, elegantly arched brows centered by an urna, full lips, and a wavy mustache, flanked by pendulous ears suspending circular earrings. His wavy hair tied in a high chignon, secured by beaded and jeweled bands with two plaits falling on his shoulders. The neck adorned with a floral collar and beaded jewelry.

Provenance: A noted American private collector. Heather James Fine Art and Antiquities, Los Angeles, California, November 1999, acquired from the above. Lowell and April Blackfort, Beverly Hills, California, acquired from the above and thence by descent in the same family. The base inscribed ‘Gandara [sic!] Bodhisattva Head – 2nd/3rd century A.D.’ A copy of the original invoice addressed to Lowell and April Blankfort, dated 11 July 1999, confirming the dating above, and stating a purchase price of USD 40,000 or approx. EUR 68,000 (adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), accompanies this lot. Heather James Fine Art, located in California, established in 1996, boasts a large spectrum of genres including Buddhist, Impressionist and Modern Art. Over the years, the gallery has expanded into an international network with locations in London, New York, and Basel. The gallery placed works with some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Denver Art Museum, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Lowell Arnold Blankfort (1926-2015) was an American journalist and noted publisher. During his career, Mr. Blankfort visited hundreds of political hot spots around the world, from Afghanistan and Iran to Russia and Cuba, for major publications such as The Wall Street Journal. He reported on post-communism society in China, Taiwan and Eastern Europe. Mr. Blankfort also served as president of the United Nations Association.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, signs of extensive weathering and erosion, losses, chips, soil encrustations, structural cracks, and the nose with some losses.

Weight: 44.3 kg
Dimensions: Height 50.5 cm (excl. base), 62.5 cm (incl. base)

Mounted to a modern base. (2)

Of exceptional scale with a commanding presence, this head is a superlative example of the Gandharan style of sculpture that flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from roughly the 1st through the 5th centuries of the Common Era. The region of Gandhara, which comprised parts of modern day Pakistan and Afghanistan, was strategically located at the hub of the ancient Silk Routes and was an area of prime military and commercial significance in antiquity. The region was particularly influenced by Hellenistic culture resulting from the military campaign of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE. The legacy of Hellenism that he left in his wake was integrated with local traditions creating a multi-cultural lexicon out of which was born the Gandharan School of art, a unique amalgam of East and West. Gandharan sculptures, as seen in the present lot, are executed in a strongly ‘Classical’ Greco-Roman style that was applied to a purely Buddhist and Indic iconography.

The hybrid character of Gandharan art found powerful expression in Buddhism, a new religion that was founded in northern India towards the end of the first Millennium before the Common Era. The Buddhist creed, which placed emphasis on righteous and moral deeds as the path to salvation, was embraced by the cosmopolitan population of Gandhara and became the dominant religion in this area. Buddhist iconographic and artistic conventions were given eloquent form in the ateliers of Gandhara under the patronage of successive Indo-Greek rulers followed by the mighty Kushan emperors who oversaw the construction of hundreds of Buddhist temples and monasteries throughout their domain.

The elegantly modeled face of this bodhisattva displays the classic fusion of Indic and Hellenistic artistic traditions that characterized Gandharan art. The serene countenance with its contemplative and deeply spiritual expression is masterfully executed. The jeweled headdress is part of the rich suite of aristocratic accoutrements known as bodhisattvabharana, which indicated the deity’s divine identity and also acted as symbols representing the material and spiritual wealth to be gained by lay worshippers.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related schist head of a bodhisattva, dated 2nd-3rd century, 54.6 cm high, in the Walters Art Museum, accession number 25.265.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2012, lot 723
Price: USD 74,500 or approx. EUR 92,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A schist head of a bodhisattva, Gandhara, 2nd/3rd century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and manner of carving with similar expression and hairstyle. Note the much smaller size (30.5 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3078
Price: USD 275,000 or approx. EUR 311,000
Description: A large schist head of Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, 3rd/4th century
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling and manner of carving. Note that this head depicts Buddha but is of similar size (47.3 cm) to the present lot.

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