ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 3RD-4TH CENTURY CE

The present lot, with Maitreya seated at center flanked by a retinue of elegantly-ornamented disciples bearing gifts, and celestial figures above holding fly-whisks, depicts the trope of bodhisattva adoration common throughout the Gandharan idiom. The depiction of Maitreya with crossed ankles, an expression developed in Gandhara, had an unprecedented influence on the later Buddhist art of East Asia. Here, the deep relief is sensitively rendered, carved with superb attention to the stylized chignons, individuated facial features, powerful physical forms, and the jewelry and raiment of the figures. Compare the refined details of the current work with a slightly earlier frieze depicting a similar scene, formerly in the collection of Simon Digby and sold at Christie’s London, 8 April 2011, lot 282; another frieze depicting the adoration of Maitreya from Christie’s New York, 23 March 2010, lot 148, and also a frieze depicting Maitreya Preaching to an Audience at the Museum für Indische Kunst, Berlin (acc. no. MIK I 87).