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Lot Essay
This finely carved dark grey schist head depicts a male figure with a serene yet intense expression, exemplifying the stylistic synthesis of classical and South Asian traditions in Gandharan art. His large, wide-set eyes, carefully incised with pupils, convey a trance-like gaze that draws the viewer in, while heavy, lidded brows, a bow-shaped upper lip, and a strong, rounded jaw give the face a calm but alert presence. A neatly groomed moustache, curled whiskers, and voluminous hair arranged in large curls frame the face, with the remnants of a turban still visible above the forehead, its individual twisting bands finely detailed.
This figure has traditionally been interpreted as an atlantes, a supporting figure found in Gandharan architecture and loosely based on the Greek god Atlas. However, unlike classical Atlas figures, Gandharan atlantes do not wear turbans. (see Pal, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, Volume 1: Art from the Indian Subcontinent, 2003, pp. 68–69).
Given the presence of the turban, a marker of status or religious affiliation not typically associated with atlantes, this head may just as plausibly represent an attendant figure in a narrative tableau surrounding a teaching Buddha. In such scenes, attendant bodhisattvas or lay donors are often depicted with stylised Hellenistic features, integrating local devotional customs with imported classical forms.
Whether architectural or narrative, this fragment speaks to the hybrid aesthetic and religious diversity that defined Gandharan Buddhist visual culture.
This figure has traditionally been interpreted as an atlantes, a supporting figure found in Gandharan architecture and loosely based on the Greek god Atlas. However, unlike classical Atlas figures, Gandharan atlantes do not wear turbans. (see Pal, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, Volume 1: Art from the Indian Subcontinent, 2003, pp. 68–69).
Given the presence of the turban, a marker of status or religious affiliation not typically associated with atlantes, this head may just as plausibly represent an attendant figure in a narrative tableau surrounding a teaching Buddha. In such scenes, attendant bodhisattvas or lay donors are often depicted with stylised Hellenistic features, integrating local devotional customs with imported classical forms.
Whether architectural or narrative, this fragment speaks to the hybrid aesthetic and religious diversity that defined Gandharan Buddhist visual culture.