GANDHARA SCHIST STONE TORSO OF BUDDHA WITH HALO

100-300 AD. Gandharan. A grey schist torso of a Buddha. He is depicted wearing a flowing robe and a topknot (ushnisha). He is characterised by his arched brow, heavily lidded, half-closed eyes, a bulbous nose, full lips, rounded chin and large, pendulous ears. He is backed by a circular halo. 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 the 1990s on the UK / International art markets. Size: L:340mm / W:270mm ; 10.5kg