A stucco figure of a Lokapala

GANDHARA, 4TH CENTURY

Details

A stucco figure of a Lokapala
Gandhara, 4th century
Standing on his lion with his left arm on his hip and his right hand holding his club against his shoulder, wearing a breastplate and chain-mail skirt, gazing to his left
28¼ in. (71.8 cm.) high

Provenance

The James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, Chicago
Spink & Son, London, 1980

Literature

Pratapaditya Pal, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, 1997, p. 146 and 315, cat. no. 191
I. Kurita, Gandharan Art II: The World of the Buddha, 2003, p. 214, cat. no. 629

Exhibited

On loan to Art Institute of Chicago since 1999

Lot Essay

Lokapala are a group of protective figures in early Buddhist art. As in the present example, they are usually depicted wearing the attire of Roman soldiers, including chain-mail skirts and jackets, sometimes over their Indian clothing. The club and lion further suggest this lokapala is very likely Vaishravana, the Regent of the North. Pal considers it to be one of the best examples of such guardian figures to survive from this period.

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