AN IMPORTANT TERRACOTTA BUST OF A MALE DEITY, ANCIENT REGION OF HUND
AN IMPORTANT TERRACOTTA BUST OF A MALE DEITY, ANCIENT REGION OF HUND
Pakistan, 5th-7th century. Finely modeled with his hands raised, the face gently turned to the left, featuring almond-shaped eyes with inset pupils below neatly incised brows, pointed nose above bud-form lips, flanked by pendulous earlobes suspending large beaded earrings, the loose curls of hair falling in ringlets over the shoulders and forehead, the hair adorned with an elaborate pearl diadem centered by a foliate crown, the neck with magnificent beaded jewelry.
Provenance: Collection of Yvette Starck, Luxembourg, and thence by descent to Jacques Grosbusch, Luxembourg.
Condition: Good condition overall, commensurate with age. With extensive wear, weathering, and erosion; remnants of pigments, some losses, small chips, few cracks and old repairs with associated touchups, as well as expected firing flaws. All consistent with the considerable age and fragility of the sculpture.
Weight: 4.8 kg
Dimensions: Height 37.5 cm
The ringlets falling over the shoulders recall images from Gupta India, see a figure of a devotee with a related hair dress, dated to the 5th century, in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Bombay, accession number TC 56. The Gupta style itself was inspired by Gandharan prototypes, where elaborate coiffures are associated with princely bodhisattva statues. The fan of curls at the crown of his head, as well as the profusion of locks falling down behind, perhaps indicates that a wig, rather than natural hair, formed such an elaborate coiffure.
The strongly incised facial features bear similarities to clay sculptures from Ushkur (see a related terracotta head of a man, dated to the 6th to 7th century, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.85.193.1). The same dramatic line of the eyebrows, running down to the bridge of the nose, the large expressive eyes and the sublime smile all indicate a distinct style of beauty.
Hund, known in antiquity as Udabhandapura, was a small village in the Swabi district, situated on the right bank of the Indus River in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It was the Turk Shahi dynasty's capital of Gandhara, and possibly functioned as a winter capital alternating with the summer capital of Kabul within the kingdom of Kapisa-Gandhara in the 7th to 9th century. Old relics and remains of ancient civilizations have been found in the village after excavation work was undertaken by the government in the recent past. The history and past glory of the Hund has been preserved by the local government which constructed a museum and a replica of the tower of Olympia. The tower watches over the mighty Indus River, commemorating Alexander the Great's crossing of the Indus while staying in Hund during his final military campaign for the Indian subcontinent.
Expert's note: This deity probably dates from the late 6th or 7th century, that point when Kashmir was beginning to develop the distinctive stylistic elements associated with the more familiar bronze statues made later on. Stylistic analysis of post-Gupta/post-Gandhara art in Kashmir is difficult. Hermann Goetz, writing over seventy years ago (Goetz, Bombay, 1952) observed an intermediate phase between the styles of late Gandhara and mature Kashmir. He noted, however, that there was no simple evolutionary path and probably many more influences at work than are necessarily understood. Compare the striking resemblance between the present lot and two small attendants flanking the throne of a magnificent bronze Buddha from Kashmir, dated c. 700, 33.7 cm high, in the Norton Simon Museum, accession number F.1972.48.2.S. One has to proceed tentatively when analyzing the sculptures from Hund, but it is not rash to suggest that they represent an important step in the process that Goetz identifies.
Literature comparison:
Compare a related terracotta figure of a deity seated in Rajalilasana, from the Buddhist monastery of Fondukistan in the Ghorband valley in the heart of Hindu Kush mountains, 72 cm high, dated ca. 6th century, in the Musée Guimet, accession number MG 18959.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Zacke, Vienna, 16 October 2025, lot 223
Price: EUR 46,800 or approx. EUR 49,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An important terracotta bust of a female deity, Ancient region of Hund
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject, the ornamentation, and condition. Note the size (57 cm).
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
AN IMPORTANT TERRACOTTA BUST OF A MALE DEITY, ANCIENT REGION OF HUND
Pakistan, 5th-7th century. Finely modeled with his hands raised, the face gently turned to the left, featuring almond-shaped eyes with inset pupils below neatly incised brows, pointed nose above bud-form lips, flanked by pendulous earlobes suspending large beaded earrings, the loose curls of hair falling in ringlets over the shoulders and forehead, the hair adorned with an elaborate pearl diadem centered by a foliate crown, the neck with magnificent beaded jewelry.
Provenance: Collection of Yvette Starck, Luxembourg, and thence by descent to Jacques Grosbusch, Luxembourg.
Condition: Good condition overall, commensurate with age. With extensive wear, weathering, and erosion; remnants of pigments, some losses, small chips, few cracks and old repairs with associated touchups, as well as expected firing flaws. All consistent with the considerable age and fragility of the sculpture.
Weight: 4.8 kg
Dimensions: Height 37.5 cm
The ringlets falling over the shoulders recall images from Gupta India, see a figure of a devotee with a related hair dress, dated to the 5th century, in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Bombay, accession number TC 56. The Gupta style itself was inspired by Gandharan prototypes, where elaborate coiffures are associated with princely bodhisattva statues. The fan of curls at the crown of his head, as well as the profusion of locks falling down behind, perhaps indicates that a wig, rather than natural hair, formed such an elaborate coiffure.
The strongly incised facial features bear similarities to clay sculptures from Ushkur (see a related terracotta head of a man, dated to the 6th to 7th century, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.85.193.1). The same dramatic line of the eyebrows, running down to the bridge of the nose, the large expressive eyes and the sublime smile all indicate a distinct style of beauty.
Hund, known in antiquity as Udabhandapura, was a small village in the Swabi district, situated on the right bank of the Indus River in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It was the Turk Shahi dynasty's capital of Gandhara, and possibly functioned as a winter capital alternating with the summer capital of Kabul within the kingdom of Kapisa-Gandhara in the 7th to 9th century. Old relics and remains of ancient civilizations have been found in the village after excavation work was undertaken by the government in the recent past. The history and past glory of the Hund has been preserved by the local government which constructed a museum and a replica of the tower of Olympia. The tower watches over the mighty Indus River, commemorating Alexander the Great's crossing of the Indus while staying in Hund during his final military campaign for the Indian subcontinent.
Expert's note: This deity probably dates from the late 6th or 7th century, that point when Kashmir was beginning to develop the distinctive stylistic elements associated with the more familiar bronze statues made later on. Stylistic analysis of post-Gupta/post-Gandhara art in Kashmir is difficult. Hermann Goetz, writing over seventy years ago (Goetz, Bombay, 1952) observed an intermediate phase between the styles of late Gandhara and mature Kashmir. He noted, however, that there was no simple evolutionary path and probably many more influences at work than are necessarily understood. Compare the striking resemblance between the present lot and two small attendants flanking the throne of a magnificent bronze Buddha from Kashmir, dated c. 700, 33.7 cm high, in the Norton Simon Museum, accession number F.1972.48.2.S. One has to proceed tentatively when analyzing the sculptures from Hund, but it is not rash to suggest that they represent an important step in the process that Goetz identifies.
Literature comparison:
Compare a related terracotta figure of a deity seated in Rajalilasana, from the Buddhist monastery of Fondukistan in the Ghorband valley in the heart of Hindu Kush mountains, 72 cm high, dated ca. 6th century, in the Musée Guimet, accession number MG 18959.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Zacke, Vienna, 16 October 2025, lot 223
Price: EUR 46,800 or approx. EUR 49,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An important terracotta bust of a female deity, Ancient region of Hund
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject, the ornamentation, and condition. Note the size (57 cm).
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
