? AN EXTREMELY RARE SANDSTONE TORSO OF BUDDHA GRANTING PROTECTION, MATHURA, KUSHAN EMPIRE, PERIOD OF KANISHKA THE GREAT (c. 127–150 AD) Central India, Uttar Pradesh. The slender figure standing in samabhanga with the right hand raised in abhaya mudra and the left resting on his hip. Dressed in a diaphanous uttarasanga which covers the left shoulder and crosses the chest diagonally, with elegantly incised pleats following the contours of the body, and a dhoti secured to the waist by a knot tied into a bow, while a billowing shawl hangs loose to the arm.
Provenance: A private collection, acquired in the 1970s. The collection of Nik Douglas, acquired from the above circa 1989, and thence by descent to his wife Christi Douglas, New York, United States. A private collection in New York, United States, acquired from the above in 2021. Copies of a provenance statement signed by Christi Douglas on 28 February 2021 and confirming the above, a sales offer written and signed by Nik Douglas, addressed to Thomas J. Pritzker Esq. (of the Pritzker family, one of the wealthiest in the United States), dated 15 June 1993, and describing the present torso as “Pure ‘Sarnath’ Gupta style, Very Rare” with an asking price “for a quick sale” of USD 120,000 or approx. EUR 246,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), and a price list for a selection of pieces offered by Nik Douglas, dated 13 April 1994, and including the present lot, no. 5 “Torso from Sarnath”, with an asking price of USD 95,000 or approx. EUR 191,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), accompany this lot. Nicholas ‘Nik’ Douglas (1944-2012) was a renowned author, curator, and Asian art expert. Between 1966 and 1974, he traveled through South and Southeast Asia, visiting remote areas of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Sikkim, Thailand, and Indonesia, building up his knowledge of the customs, beliefs and spiritual practices of Hindus and Buddhists. He researched Oriental medicine, alchemy, art, sculpture and mysticism, studying with Hindu yogis, Buddhist lamas, and doctors. The Buckingham Collection was built by Nik Douglas, his mother, and his grandfather as well as further collectors in the family. Part of the collection was exhibited in 2010 by The Tibet House, New York, The Buddha Image: Out of Uddiyana.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, obvious losses, chips, nicks, scratches, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations.
Weight: 80 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 102. 5 cm (excl. stand), 117.5 cm (incl. stand)
Mounted on an associated stand. (2)
The Buddha here assumes the guise of a king-like protector. His martial stance, feet apart and hand on hip, echoes the early standing portrait sculptures of the Kushan King Kanishka I (reigned c. 127–150 CE) which also borrowed from the monumentality of the yaksha (nature deity) sculptural tradition, and was in turn imitated on gold coins issued by Kanishka.
This small group of Buddhist statues counts among the greatest works representing the flourishing of stone sculpture that took place during the Kushan era, when the ruling dynasty sponsored the production of statues that merged royal portraiture with Buddhist iconography. Kushan sculpture cultivated an idealized naturalism that would continue to reverberate in Indian art, particularly evident during the Gupta era. Unlike Gupta sculpture, however, Kushan Buddhas of Kanishka’s period have a remarkable sense of presence that hovers between the earthly and the transcendent. Impressive in both scale and technical prowess, they represent a pivotal moment within the early history of Indian art.
Kanishka I, also known as Kanishka the Great, was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty, under whose reign (c. 127–150 AD) the empire reached its zenith. He is famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. A direct descendant of Kujula Kadphises, founder of the Kushan empire, Kanishka came to rule an empire extending from Central Asia and Gandhara to Pataliputra on the Gangetic plain. The main capital of his empire was located at Purusapura (Peshawar) in Gandhara, with another major capital at Mathura. Coins of Kanishka were found in Tripuri (present-day Jabalpur).
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related sandstone figure of Buddha granting protection, Kushan period, Mathura, early 2nd century, 137.2 cm high, in a private collection, exhibited by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 17 July-13 November 2023, object number TS.356, and previously sold at Christie’s New York, 15 September 2015, lot 66, for USD 1,085,000. Compare a closely related sandstone torso of Buddha with a dating inscription to the 2nd year of the reign of Kanishka, in the Allahabad Museum. Compare a closely related sandstone torso of Buddha with a dating inscription to the 28th year of the reign of Huviska, 175.3 cm high, exhibited by Carlton Rochell at Asia Week New York 2009.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 22 March 2011, lot 420
Price: USD 290,500 or approx. EUR 394,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A mottled red sandstone figure of a male deity, India, Uttar Pradesh, Mathura, Kushan period, 2nd century
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling, manner of carving, and stone. Note the similar state of preservation and the different size (47.6 cm).
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