AN IMPORTANT RED SANDSTONE HEAD OF BUDDHA, UTTAR PRADESH, MATURE GUPTA PERIOD, CIRCA 400-450 AD

拍品描述

AN IMPORTANT RED SANDSTONE HEAD OF BUDDHA, UTTAR PRADESH, MATURE GUPTA PERIOD, CIRCA 400-450 AD Northern India. Finely carved, the Buddha’s serene face with heavy-lidded almond-shaped eyes beneath sharply arched brows centered by a deeply recessed urna, a broad nose, and full lips forming a gentle smile, all above a softly rounded chin. The elongated earlobes frame the face, while the hair is arranged in symmetrical rows of tightly coiled curls rising to a prominent ushnisha. Dimensions: Height 39 cm (excl. stand), 51 cm (incl. stand) This is a classic representation of the Buddha Shakyamuni’s head made in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, in circa 450 during the mature stylistic phase of the Gupta Dynasty. Its physiognomic iconography exhibits the evolved artistic and theological preferences of the Gupta era. Rather than the earlier images’ open eyes staring straight ahead to engage the devotee, this later work’s eyes are half shut and look downward to convey his inner contemplation and compassion. It features empty distended earlobes representing his renunciation of the material world. Each head has a cranial protuberance symbolizing the Buddha’s omniscience and enlightened insight, but the Gupta head has crisp snail-shell curls in place of the topknot and otherwise nondescript cropped hair of the Kushan head. The later head’s countenance has fuller, more sensuous lips than the thinner pursed lips of the earlier period. The brows arch with tension and alertness, though the lids are half closed. Short curls cover his head and cranial protuberance, which during this period came to be interpreted as a mark of one who has reached enlightenment, his state of awareness having surpassed the boundaries of an ordinary human being. Sculptors working during the time when kings of the Gupta dynasty ruled northern India achieved a balance between fleshy volumes and idealized linear features. This balance led scholars to consider the Gupta period to be a “classical” age of Indian art. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related mottled red sandstone head of Buddha, Mathura, dated circa 450, 30.48 cm high, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.82.6.3. Compare a closely related sandstone head of Buddha, circa 400 AD, 30.6 cm high, in the Cleveland Museum of Art, accession number 1963.504. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s New York, 23 March 2010, lot 167 Price: USD 986,500 or approx. EUR 1,305,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of carving, and stone with similar expression. Note the much larger size (53.3 cm).

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