I💃ndian & Southeast 🍬Asian Art From the MacLean Collection

A Majestic Gray Schist Figure of a Bodhisattva

Ancient Region of Gandhara, 3rd/4th Century

Height 48¾ in. (123.8 cm)

The exquisitely carved, magisterial sculpture of the bodhisattva with well-modeled physique, his proper left hand resting on his hip, clad in a dhoti secured at the waist, a finely-pleated diaphanous scarf draped over his upper body, richly adorned with an elaborate suite of jewelry including a diadem, armbands, necklaces, strings of amulets, bracelets and a ring, his youthful face bearing a serene expression. His flowing tresses are crowned by a turban whose loose ends are artfully arranged in the manner of a fluttering scarf on the large halo resting on his shoulders and framing his head. His proper right hand, now missing, would have likely displayed abhayamudra or the gesture of prot🥃ection. The halo has a prominent cavity in its apex by which the sculpture would have been secured to a pillar or wall in a shrine by means of a large peg.