A SCHIST FIGURE OF BUDDHAANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, CIRCA 3RD CENTURY
122 cm (48 in.) high注脚This majestic figure of Buddha exudes both power and grace. His idealized face and classic, rippling hair rising over the wide ushnisha are framed by the circular nimbus affirming his divinity.
 
With universal appeal among collectors, the Gandharan style is a fascinating and accomplished idiom, testament to the cross-cultural origins and early spread of Buddhist art. Created by ateliers working in the Greco-Roman style that populated the region following Alexander the Great's invasion of modern-day Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Western China in 327 BCE, they drew on Mediterranean sculptural traditions when catering to the demand from local Buddhist communities for carved stone monuments and iconic statuary. The Gandharan style, in turn, formed the precedent for the earliest Buddhist images in China, via contact and exchange across Central Asian trade routes.
 
The ancient region of Gandhara was once an important center for trade and religious activities. Carved stone monuments and iconic statuary were created for Buddhist patrons while drawing on Greco-Roman sculptural traditions. The present work is one such example, incorporating the emphasis on naturalism, seen in the treatment of his heavy monastic robe wrapping around his neck in thick layers and forming U-shaped folds on his legs with a convincing sense of gravity. Compare with examples published in Ingholt, Gandharan Art in Pakistan, 1957, p.111, fig.207 and in the Tokyo National Museum (Kurita, Gandharan Art, vol.I, 2003, p.78, pl. 201).
 
The hems of Buddha's alluring robes are gathered in a soft roll clutched by his left hand to keep the garment tort and in place. The remains of his right forearm terminate with a commonly seen mortise that would have supported a separately carved hand modelling the gesture of reassurance (abhaya mudra). Referring to similar examples in the British Museum, Zwalf discusses this arrangement in detail which forms an iconic trope in Gandharan art (Zwalf, Gandharan Sculpture, vol. I, London, 1996. p.81; also p.9, no.1). As with the British Museum examples, the present sculpture's base is carved in low relief depicting the Future Buddha, Maitreya venerated by pairs of donor figures. This scene is also presented (with only a single donor either side) on a Gandharan sculpture of Buddha in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Behrendt, The Art of Gandhara, New York, 2007, p.51, no.40).
 
Exhibiting such representative stylistic and iconographic features, the present lot is a superiorly carved, textbook example of the Gandharan Buddha. Compare a smaller, more fragmentary example sold at Christie's, New York, 13 September 2017, lot 603 and others sold at Christie's, New York, 12 September 2012, lot 512; and Sotheby's, New York, 22 March 2018, lot 1026.
 
Provenance
Private American Collection by 1994
Private Asian Collection


片巖佛陀像
犍陀羅，約三世紀
高122釐米（48英吋）

8,000,000-12,000,000港幣

此尊儀態莊嚴的佛像詮釋著力量與優雅之結合。佛陀理想化的面容古典而高貴，縷縷捲髮覆蓋著寬大的螺髻，圓形的頭光襯托出佛陀神聖。

犍陀羅藝術之風格獨具魅力，技藝之精湛更令人歎為觀止，作為佛教藝術跨文化起源與其早期傳播之見證，為廣大藏家所鍾愛。公元前327年，亞歷山大大帝攻佔現今巴基斯坦、阿富汗以及中國西部等地，古希臘與羅馬之風格隨之風靡一時，工匠們依循地中海雕塑傳統為當地佛教群體塑造了眾多佛教建築與塑像。通過中亞的貿易之路，犍陀羅風格亦影響了中國佛教藝術的起源。

古老的犍陀羅曾一度成為貿易與宗教之中心。大量以石料製成的佛教建築與佛教題材塑像遵循了古希臘羅馬之雕塑傳統。本尊造像亦是如此，其厚重的長袍在頸部層層疊起，在腿部垂落成U形皺摺，傳達出重力感，體現出匠師對自然主義的注重。比照一件著錄於Ingholt《Gandharan Art in Pakistan》的佛像（1957年，頁111，圖207）以及一件東京國立博物館藏品（見Kurita，《Gandharan Art》，卷一，2003年，頁78，圖版201）。

優美長衣的邊緣聚為一簇，被佛陀輕輕握於左手之中，令衣物更為利落相宜。佛陀殘缺的右臂末端可見一榫眼，應用於固定一單獨雕刻而成的下臂，右手應施無畏印。在提到大英博物館所藏相近佛像時，Zwalf曾詳細分析此種犍陀羅藝術中的典型圖像（見Zwalf，《Gandharan Sculpture》，卷一，倫敦，1996年，頁81，以及頁9，編號1）。正如大英博物館藏品一般，本尊佛像之底座刻有淺浮雕，呈現彌勒菩薩受兩對供養人敬拜圖。類似場景（彌勒菩薩身旁各有一人）亦出現於大都會博物館藏一尊犍陀羅佛像底座（Behrendt，《The Art of Gandhara》，紐約，2007年，頁51，編號40）。

本尊佛像不僅呈現出極富代表性的風格與圖像特徵，更是一件工藝卓絕的教科書級的犍陀羅佛像。可與佳士得售出的一尊體積較小且較不完整的作品（佳士得，紐約，2017年9月13日，拍品603）進行比較。亦可參考其他另外兩件作品，分別售出於佳士得（紐約，2012年9月12日，拍品512）以及蘇富比（紐約，2018年3月22日，拍品1026）。

來源
美國私人珍藏，1994年或以前入藏
亞洲私人珍藏