Lot Essay
This impressive torso of a Bodhisattva is remarkable for its carving. The sculptors of Gandhara were highly skilled craftsmen who created Buddhist images that often showed strong Hellenistic influence. This can be seen in the present example in the rippling muscles and in the treatment of the drapery which clings to the figure's legs. The skillfull "baroque" style treatment of the physique and the volume of the drapery with its prominent and deeply undercut folds suggest that this work belongs to the mature or well-developed phase of Gandharan sculpture.