1] G314 NO. 2 IN OUR 2002 EXHIBITION ‘GLIMMERINGS FROM THE EAST’    

HEAD OF BUDDHA

NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN, PROBABLY FROM THE KUNDUZ AREA

KUSHAN, 1^ST-2^ND CENTURY AD

H. 36 CMS, 14 INS

A highly important and possibly unique white limestone head of the Buddha, the hair emanating in waves from a centre-point above a raised urna, the eyes half open and the mouth set with a gentle smile; with the remains of both shoulders and a mandorla still present.

The style of this large, impressive sculpture marks a transition between the classical art of sites such as Ai Khanum and the more syncretic flavour of later art from Gandhara, typified by the artists of Hadda. Almost nothing of a similar style has survived the ravages of time and the attentions of iconoclasts. A rare exception is the celebrated limestone relief of the Buddha and disciples beneath the bodhi tree, found at Fayaz-tepe, near Termez, Southern Uzbekistan. See plate 175 in Shiruku Rodo dai bunmeiten. Shiruku rodo, oashisu to sogen no michi, (The Grand Exhibition of Silk Road civilizations). 3 vols, Exhibition catalogue, Nara National Museum. Nara: Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, 1988.

Provenance: Previously sold by us in 2002.

Private English Collection in Portugal.

Art Loss Register certificate, 23rd January 2003.