GANDHARA OR CENTRAL ASIA, CIRCA 3RD CENTURY

細節

A Rare Silver Bowl
Gandhara or Central Asia, circa 3rd Century
The bowl of shallow form on a ring foot, the central medallion cast in relief with a winged figure holding a trident and wrestling a dragon, encircled by incised friezes of stylized lotus petals and acanthus leaves, the reverse incised in a fluid style with mythical creatures, a snake and various birds interspersed with flowering lotuses
5 in. (12.8 cm.) diameter

來源

Private US Collection (before 1965)

拍品專文

This silver bowl formally and iconographically relates to schist palettes, sometimes referred to as 'cosmetic trays' although the use is inconclusive, that draw on imagery of the Hellenistic world. The subjects are often freely interpreted or somewhat misunderstood, the trident in this case being the attribute of Poseidon. The fluid Indianized style of 'drawing' on the reverse is remarkable, indicative of an amalgamation of styles; compare a palette in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, with a figure riding a similar sea monster, in H.-P. Francfort, Les Palettes du Gandhara, 1979, pl. XXVII, cat. no. 53; and two silver repoussé roundels with elephants transporting Buddha's relics in the British Museum, from the Oxus treasure, see S. Czuma, Kushan Sculpture, Images from Early India, 1985, cat. no. 73 A,B, both among the very few other examples of silver ware in the Gandharan context.