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Lot Essay
The present figure can tentatively be identified by the characteristic topknot of hair as the bodhisattva, Maitreya; as such, he would have held a pendent water vessel in his proper left hand. Maitreya is considered the Buddha of the future - when the dharma is forgotten on Earth, he will descend from the Tushita Heaven to be born in our realm as the next Buddha. His iconic water vessel, the kumbha, is found in many different contexts within Indian sculpture, but is almost always a symbol of fertility and life. It is an apt visual icon for Maitreya's role as a progenitor of future peace and order.
When he is born on earth, Maitreya will be of Brahmin stock, and is depicted in rich robes similar to that of the historical Gautama Buddha prior to his renunciation of worldly goods. His vestments include a foliate torque, a rope-work necklace with a makara-head pendant, and a cord with cylindrical amulet boxes of a type still in use in South Asia. The heavy folds of his sanghati display the naturalistic treatment of drapery characteristic of the Gandharan period that is a holdover from the earlier Greco-Roman influence in the region.
The present work is distinguished by the Buddhist creed which is incised in Kharosthi script along the outer edge of the aureole, a rare feature found on only a few known examples. Compare with a figure of Maitreya, also bearing a Kharosthi inscription along the aureole, sold at Christie's New York, 21 March 2008, lot 518.
When he is born on earth, Maitreya will be of Brahmin stock, and is depicted in rich robes similar to that of the historical Gautama Buddha prior to his renunciation of worldly goods. His vestments include a foliate torque, a rope-work necklace with a makara-head pendant, and a cord with cylindrical amulet boxes of a type still in use in South Asia. The heavy folds of his sanghati display the naturalistic treatment of drapery characteristic of the Gandharan period that is a holdover from the earlier Greco-Roman influence in the region.
The present work is distinguished by the Buddhist creed which is incised in Kharosthi script along the outer edge of the aureole, a rare feature found on only a few known examples. Compare with a figure of Maitreya, also bearing a Kharosthi inscription along the aureole, sold at Christie's New York, 21 March 2008, lot 518.