Ca. 200-300 AD.A schist stone statue of Atlas shown with his characteristic iconography within Gandharan art, appearing as a bare-chested, winged man crouching down. His hair, moustache and other features have all been carefully modelled, underlining the high quality of this piece. Atlas was a Titan in Greek mythology who was condemned to hold up the sky for all eternity, but figures of Atlas were popular adornment for Gandharan stupas; Buddhist burial sites or reliquaries. This region was greatly influenced by the conquests of Alexander the Great many centuries earlier and the subsequent Greek settlers, and so elements of Greek religion and art merged with Buddhist religion and art. For a similar see The British Museum, Museum number 1880.183. Good condition with some surface polishing and cleaaning. Size: L:370mm / W:250mm ; 12.2kgProvenance: Property of an Oxfordshire art professional; previously in an old British collection, formed in the 1980s on the UK / International art markets.