A SCHIST FIGURE OF BUDDHA

ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, CIRCA 3RD CENTURY

Footnotes

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.

Most telling of its Western inheritance is the emphasis on naturalism, seemingly observed from real life models, seen for example in the rendering of the figure's balance and weight, with his left knee bent in a slight contrapposto, and the heavy monastic robe, reminiscent of a toga, which tightens and slackens with a convincing sense of gravity as it drapes over the muscular body.

The Gandharan style, in turn, formed the precedent for the earliest Buddhist images in China, via contact and exchange across Central Asian trade routes. This form of the Buddha, wearing a thick robe covering both shoulders, and grasping a hem in his left hand, is seen in seated images originally incorporated into mortuary practices of the contemporaneous Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE), such as a carving above the doorway of Mahao Tomb l in Leshan, Sichuan Province. A fully-fledged iconic tradition still redolent of the Gandharan style flourished soon after in China during the Six Dynasties period (222–589 CE). One of the clearest links between the art of Gandhara and early Buddha images in China is demonstrated by a gilt bronze of Buddha held in the Harvard Art Museums, one of the earliest devotional Buddhist image made in China (acc.#1943.53.80.A).

Various elements set the present lot apart from the majority of surviving Gandharan material. Stemming from archeological remains, schist Gandharan sculptures frequently survive in fragments, with large portions missing, often faces and whole sections of the feet or torso. It has also been common practice to reconstitute broken parts, sometimes with elements from other sculptures, and to fill in gaps with a modern epoxy. Therefore, to have an example surviving as intact and straightforward as this is extremely rare.

Meanwhile, the Buddha's face here is sweeter, more natural, and approachable than many other examples. While debated, Gandharan sculptures of this smaller scale (under one meter) and with more natural features are thought to predate larger examples that also tend to show more abstracted facial features, such as the bridge of the nose being conveyed by a simplistic flattened ridge. These contribute to later examples exhibiting an emphasis on power and authority whilst earlier pieces, such as this, can appear more approachable and uplifting. Contrast with, for instance, a monumental figure of a bodhisattva recently sold at Christie's, New York, 13 September 2016, lot 229.

This sculpture was likely among the earliest produced around the turn of the 3rd century as Buddhist worship in the region shifted from the Nayika (Theravada) school's focus on relics and stupas to Mahayana's emphasis on the veneration of icons. During this time, ateliers transitioned away from carving narrative panels that lined the façade of stupas, towards sculptures of the Buddha and bodhisattvas that increasingly became the focus of worship. Between this figure's ankles is an anchor hole by which it would have been affixed to a niche as part of a Buddhist monument; such was its original architectural context.

Sculptures of this period and scale can often appear somewhat squat and dwarfish, whereas this example retains an elegant sense of proportion throughout the figure. Its halo bears a rare and distinctive wreath carved around the rim, which is also seen on two examples in Pakistan published by Ingholt in 1957, and one held within the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection at Asia Society, New York (see Ingholt, Gandharan Art in Pakistan, New York, 1957, & Asia Society, The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan, New York, 2011, pp.150-1, no.58, respectively). Below his feet is a cartouche depicting Maitreya flanked by monastic and lay devotees. Lastly, the sculpture comes from one of the most revered collections of Gandharan art in North America, the David R. Nalin Collection, which has served as an important resource for many North American museums.

Exhibited
A Collector's Passion: South Asian Selections from the Nalin Collection, Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 12 June–9 November 2009.

Provenance
David R. Nalin Collection, acquired 1980s


片巖佛像
犍陀羅，約三世紀　
喜馬拉雅藝術資源網2150號
高71釐米（28英寸）

800,000-1,200,000 港元

犍陀羅藝術高雅迷人，乃佛教藝術跨文化根源與早期傳承的遺證，深受全球收藏家青睞。公元前327年，阿歷山大大帝佔侵現今巴基斯坦、阿富汗及中國西部之所在地，一些擅於希臘羅馬風格的藝術家移居而來，於創作中借鑒地中海雕塑傳統，以滿足當地佛教群體對石碑與佛像的需求。

其中最為顯著之西方傳承，乃對自然主義之崇尚，取材源於對現實生活原型之觀察，造像之均衡美與重量感就是一例，如左膝微彎的對應姿勢 ，另外沉重的僧袍讓人聯想到古羅馬人的寬外袍，覆於壯碩身軀之上，受自然重力所驅時而繃緊時而寬鬆。

犍陀羅藝術通過中亞貿易接觸交流之路，逐漸影響了早期中國佛教造像風格。此風格的佛陀身披厚袍，覆蓋雙肩，左手執褶，形態見於當時東漢（公元25-220年）喪葬活動相關坐像，如四川省樂山市麻浩崖墓一號墓入口的雕刻。不久，至中國六朝時代（公元222-589年），造像傳統依然散發犍陀羅風格，且日趨成熟，盛行一時。犍陀羅藝術與中國早期佛像之間的關連，在收藏於哈佛藝術博物館的一尊銅鎏金佛像身上表露無遺，此造像為最早創作於漢地的佛教造像之一（館藏號1943.53.80.A）。

此拍品跟大多數現存犍陀羅藝術品相比，有幾點不同。犍陀羅片巖雕像大多發掘於考古遺址，往往以不完整形式存在，有時面部、雙足、或甚至整個身軀缺失。對不完整雕塑進行修復是常見做法，有時使用其它雕像的遺留碎片，再以現代物料環氧樹脂填空補白。由此可見，能得如此拍品一般完整無缺之作，實極為難得。

另外，此佛陀臉龐比許多雕像更甜美自然、溫潤可親。有意見認為，這些展現較多自然特徵的犍陀羅小型雕像（一米以下），其年代應比大型雕像更為悠遠。大型雕像通常面部特徵較為抽像，例如鼻樑會簡單化為扁平的隆脊，展現更強烈的權力與權威感。而早期作品，例如此拍品，則顯然更平易近人且振奮人心。與其截然不同的例子，可見2016年9月13日於紐約佳士得售出的一尊大型菩薩像（229號拍品）。

此雕塑可能於第三世紀之交創作，其時該地之信仰，正從關注聖物與佛塔的小乘佛教，轉至注重佛像崇拜的大乘佛教，藝術家也從主要雕刻佛塔上的敘事壁碑，轉為雕塑逐漸成為崇拜焦點的佛像與菩薩像。此佛像腳踝之間附固位孔，本用於固定石像於壁龕之上，作為佛碑的一部份；乃此像在建築上之原始用途。

該時代的此類雕塑之造型通常顯得矮小敦實，而此尊佛像則保留了合乎比例的優雅感。並且，佛像光環邊緣所刻花環紋罕見而獨特，類似的花環紋可見Ingholt於1957年著錄中提及的兩個巴基斯坦的作品，另一在紐約亞洲協會中約翰·洛克菲勒三世夫婦珍藏（參閱Ingholt，Gandharan Art in Pakistan，紐約，1957年，以及亞洲協會，The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan，紐約，2011年，頁150-1，58號）。其腳下之雕飾描繪了被僧侶與信眾簇擁著的彌勒菩薩。最後值得注意的，此拍品來自北美洲最令人仰慕的犍陀羅藝術收藏之一，David R. Nalin 收藏，該收藏同時也是北美洲許多博物館重要的展品來源。

展覽
A Collector's Passion: South Asian Selections from the Nalin Collection，魯賓藝術博物館，紐約，2009年6月12日至11月9日。

來源
David R. Nalin 珍藏，購於1980年代