An important bronze lotus bud-form censer

GANDHARA, 3RD/4TH CENTURY

Details

An important bronze lotus bud-form censer
Gandhara, 3rd/4th Century
In the form of a stylized lotus bud on a square plinth supported by four winged Bodhisattva figures holding wreaths, with a flared fluted column above a composite wreath, supporting a domed canopy molded with a lotus frieze and seated birds, encircled by a band of scrolling vines and adorned with pendent vine leaves alternating with bell-shaped ornaments, rising to the bud-shaped censer with a hinged cover molded with mask medallions in relief alternating with pierced wan-symbols above half-moon and heart-shaped openings, enclosed by bands of pierced triangular motifs between raised borders above and below, surmounted by a ring-shaped finial suspending miniature bells and secured with a peg attached by a chain
32 in. (82.5 cm.) high

Lot Essay

No other censer of this type appears to be recorded. It represents a unique cultural and stylistic hybrid incorporating elements of a stupa with the square base and pierced celestial motifs. The winged Bodhisattva figures holding wreaths formally correspond to Graeco-Roman representations of Nike. The concept of a fluted column as support might be related to an early model of a stupa in clay at Taxila (Sirkap) designed as a massive Corinthian capital issuing from a base with lotus petal frieze, see J. Boardman, The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity, 1993, p. 131f. and fig. 4.70; similarly, a bronze model of a stupa at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, circa 4th Century, is supported by a much reduced leafy capital as well as rampant winged lions, see M. Lerner and S. Kossak, The Arts of South and Southeast Asia, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994, fig. 10