A CARVED GREY SCHIST FIGURE OF A SEATED BUDDHA Ancient region of Gandhara, 2nd - 3rd century The haloed Buddha seated in dhyanasana with his hands folded in his lap and his feet covered by the pleated robe, the folds of the sanghati flowing over both shoulders, revealing the anatomy of his torso and covering his legs, the wavy hair tied in a bun over the ushnisha , seated on a throne flanked by two lions, below it two knelt devotees holding their hands in prayer towards a miniature throne with a rounded cushion, possibly an aniconic representation of the Buddha himself, mounted on a black metal base, 58.5cm high. Provenance: from a private German collector who purchased it recently from a private German estate in Seeshaupt, close to Munich. The first owner started collecting art in the 1950s and it is likely that this statue was purchased around the late 1970s.