Standing Bodhisattva
Artist
Anonymous
Date3rd century A.D.
GeographyIndia
MediumGrey schist
Dimensions39 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. (100.3 x 26.7 cm)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LinePurchase, 1975 (4308.1)
Object number4308.1
DescriptionPossibly Maitreya. Modelled as a Roman upper class gentleman, dressed in toga with elaborate Greco-Roman ornaments-earrings with Sphinxes, pendant with flanking putti, various amulets, leonine clasps sandals-yet exhibiting the ushnisha or cranial protuberance, one of the lakshanas or sacred signs of the Buddha under his curly-haired top-knot and the sacred thread of the high-caste Indian across his left shoulder. Likewise conceptually it expresses divergent tendencies inherent in Gandharan works, combining spiritualized anatomy with expansive prana or yogic breath within sensuous form, and the rigidly independent, pural conventionalized drapery forms ubiquitous in late Classic Western prototypes. Reliefs at base are early Buddhist aniconic symbols: Bodhi tree under which the Buddha meditated and obtained enlightenment, his begging bowl and two disciples.On View
On viewCollections
Anonymous
late 13th cetury - early 14th century
