ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 4TH-5TH CENTURY CE

This large head of a female deity can possibly be identified as Hariti, the patron goddess of fertility and children. Hariti is one of the few female deities in the Buddhist pantheon of ancient Gandhara, and by far the most significant. It is fair to assume based on the larger-than-life-sized scale that the complete figure would have honored a deity of great importance, and no female deity compares to Hariti. Compare this stucco head to that of the large schist figure of Hariti, lot 420 in the present sale, with similarly represented facial features, coiffed hair and tightly woven headband.