GANDHARA SCHIST STONE PANEL WITH BUDDHA AND HIS

C. 100-300 AD. Gandharan. Stunning carved schist stone panel from Gandhara representing Buddha and his faithful, surrounded by patterned borders. Buddha is standing in the centre with his face turned forwards. He is flanked by adoring attendant figures dressed in robes with finely incised folds. Gandhara was an ancient region in the Peshawar basin in the north-west of the ancient Indian subcontinent (modern north-west Pakistan and South-east Afghanistan). The Kushan period (c. 75-451 AD) of Gandharan art, to which this figure belongs, was the golden age of artistic production in the area. Provenance: From the private collection of an Oxford gentleman; previously in an old British collection, formed in before 2000 on the UK / International art markets. Size: L:270mm / W:545mm ; 17.3kg