NORTHWEST PAKISTAN, GANDHARA

2^ND– 3^RD CENTURY

H. 53 CMS, 21 INS

A majestic grey schist torso of a donor or devotee wearing a Kushan tunic, with a jewelled belt and necklace, and carrying an offertory shrine in his hands.

Secular figures from this period are rare. The closest comparison is with a sculpture from Sahri-Bahlol in the Peshawar Museum (no. 1769/17) and published as pl. 63 in J. Rosenfield, Dynastic Arts of the Kushans, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1967.

A second figure, from a private European collection, is illustrated as pl. 523 in Isao Kurita, Gandharan Art: The World of the Buddha, Tokyo, 2003.

Provenance: Purchased from Spink and Son Ltd in September 1991. [Reference SEA 9786].