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2. Pensive Bodhisattva Pakistan, Gandhara 3rd/4th century Schist height 109 cm

Detail: alternate view Identifiable by the unique posture, the image of the ‘pensive bodhisattva’ is traditionally considered to represent Prince Siddhartha during his first meditation on life’s suffering. He sits with his right foot resting on his left knee, his head and torso slightly inclined, the index finger of his raised right hand touching his brow. The complex composition of the pensive bodhisattva became popular in Gandharan art in the third and fourth centuries. It subsequently spread throughout Asia, undergoing stylistic and iconographic developments in the process and culminating in the seventh century in a number of sculptures of the same iconographic type in Korea and Japan. The present work, with its natural movement and grace and peaceful smile illuminating its whole expression, is one of the finest examples known. This sculpture is a rare and classic work of the Gandharan period. Created to be seen from the front it embodies the stylistic characteristics of the first Buddhist school of art to represent the Buddha in human form. The influence of the Greco-Roman aesthetic is very evident in the naturalistic treatment of the garment and hairstyle and the realism of the facial expression. The bodhisattva wears a dynamically draped dhoti and an abundance of rich jewellery – a crescent collar, bracelets, and several charm boxes attached to a string worn diagonally across the body. Both his elaborate headdress and his sandals – one rests empty on the pedestal – are embellished with makara heads. The use of hard schist for such temple images is common. Provenance: Private collection, Japan. Art Loss Register Certificate, Reference S00027869. P. Pal, Bronzes of Kashmir, Austria, 1975, p.234, no.93. M. Lerner, The Flame and the Lotus, 1984, p.30-35. J. Lee, The Origins and Development of the Pensive Bodhisattva Images of Asia, Attribus Asiae, LIII, Switzerland,1993, p.312, no.1. J.R. Knox, South Asian Collections at the British Museum, Arts of Asia, March-April 1998, p.74, no.34. I. Kurita, Gandharan Art , The World of the Buddha, II, Japan, 2003, p.61, no.151-163. Christie’s, Indian and Southeast Asian Art, New York, 27 March 2003, no.9 and 30 March 2006, no.48. K. Tanabe, Gandharan Art from The Hirayama Collection, Kodansha, 2007, p.104, no.13.

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