A gray schist relief with the birth of Buddha

GANDHARA, 2ND/3RD CENTURY

Details

A gray schist relief with the birth of Buddha
Gandhara, 2nd/3rd century
With Queen Maya at center beneath a tree as the Buddha emerging from her right side into a swaddling cloth held by a Indra, with Brahma to his right, the Queen supported by her sister and another attendant
9¼ in. (23.5 cm.) wide

Provenance

Doris Wiener Gallery, New York, late 1970s

Exhibited

Frank Caro, (C.T. Loo), New York, 1990
International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Fair, New York, 1990
Queens Museum of Art, New York, 1984
Rhode Island School of Design, 1981

Lot Essay

In the birth scene, Queen Maya grasps the branches of the sale tree with one hand and her arm around her sister Mahaprajapati. Indra is usually shown holidng out fresh linens to catch and swaddle the newborn, and the man behind him is generally identified as Brahma.

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