GANDHARA REGION, 2ND/3RD CENTURY

This bust of Buddha is of the finest quality. Originally, this large detached figure would have been placed in a shrine or in the courtyard of a Buddhist monastery. The figure was most likely represented standing as his pleated monastic robe covers both shoulders, a common feature of standing Buddha figures. Buddha figures started to appear in the late second century when the Mahayana form of Buddhism gained popularity. The worship of the Buddha was encouraged and culminated in an ever-growing demand for his icons. His simple pleated dress and wavy hair combed over the low cranial protuberance suggest a third century date. For a comparable Buddha figure with similar hairstyle see P. Pal, Art from the Indian Subcontinent: Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, Norton Simon Art Foundation, Pasadena 2003, vol. I, pl. 19.