100-300 AD. Gandharan. Schist figure of a bodhisattva, backed by a halo, who stands, gazing serenely into the distance. He is dressed in an elegant sanghati or mantle and wears elaborate jewellery, including a beaded necklace, armbands and bracelets, reflecting his spiritual wealth. His identity as a bodhisattva is established by the presence of an incised urna on his forehead, perhaps originally ornamented with a jewel. Together, these details create a majestic impression of a bodhisattva or individual who is able to reach nirvana (enlightenment) but delays doing so through compassion for suffering beings. Gandhara was an ancient region in the Peshawar basin in the north-west of the ancient Indian subcontinent. The Kushan period (c. 75-451 AD) of Gandharan art, to which this figure example belongs, was the golden age of artistic production in the area. For further discussion on Gandharan art, see Jongeward, D. 2019, Buddhist Art Of Gandhara in the Ashmolean Museum. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Good condition. A comparable item was recently sold at Sotheby’s, see http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2013/footsteps-of-the-buddha-n09007/lot.2.html Size: L:660mm / W:230mm ; 23.2kg. Provenance: Property of a London gallery, previously in old British collection formed in the 1970s.