A SCHIST TORSO OF A BODHISATTVAANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 3RD/4TH CENTURY
80 cm (32 in.) high注脚The dramatic visual contrast created by the robe's tension around the body is exceptional. Pulled tightly in vertical and horizontal pleats around the left shoulder and arm, the robe then swoops diagonally across the thighs and slack hems curl around the right knee. This arrangement in Gandharan sculpture is typically reserved for bodhisattvas, with Avalokiteshvara and Maitreya being the most prominently worshipped (Kurita, Gandharan Art, vol.II, Tokyo, 1990, pp.14, 33, 49, nos.15, 71, 117).

Another closely related bust is in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1987.218.10, see Behrendt, The Art of Gandhara in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2007, no.41, p.53). These large figures reflect an important transition in Gandharan Buddhist sculpture and practice coinciding with the rise in popularity of Mahayana worship in the 3rd century, whereby the veneration of images of Buddha and bodhisattvas replaced that of the relic and stupa.

The absence of a string of amulets that commonly adorns Gandharan bodhisattva images might identify the figure as a rare depiction of Siddhartha Gautama before he became the Buddha. This feature is shared by examples in the Peshawar and Lahore Museums of the prince conducting his first meditation and a bust of a bodhisattva whose long curly hair has traditionally been said to identify Siddhartha (Luczanits (ed.), Gandhara, Mainz, 2008, pp.25 & 273, fig.8 & no.195). Also refer to two other examples in Japanese collections (Kurita, op. cit., pp.5 & 6, nos.1 & 2).

Provenance
Private Japanese Collection


片巖菩薩像
犍陀羅，三或四世紀
高80釐米（32英吋）

300,000-500,000港幣

菩薩繁複精美的衣物無疑創造出了豐富的戲劇化美感。長袍緊緊繫在菩薩左側肩膀與手臂，斜斜地覆蓋過右腿，在周身形成了優美的橫向與縱向褶紋，在右膝處垂落成兩道賞心悅目的弧線。此種造型在犍陀羅藝術中為菩薩像所獨有，其中觀音菩薩與彌勒菩薩最為廣受敬拜（Kurita，《Gandharan Art》，卷二，東京，1990年，頁14，33，49，編號15，71，117）。

另一件與本尊拍品十分相近的是大都會博物館珍藏的一尊半身像（編號1987.218.10，見Behrendt，《The Art of Gandhara in the Metropolitan Museum of Art》，紐約，2007年，編號41，頁53）。這些大型佛像反映出三世紀時犍陀羅佛教傳統中出現的一個重要轉變，即隨著對大乘佛教的信奉之興起，對聖物與佛塔的敬拜轉而被佛陀像與菩薩像所取代。

菩薩胸前並未像其他犍陀羅菩薩像般斜掛一串護身符牌，可能表明此像刻畫了悉達多太子成佛前的罕見形象。白沙瓦與拉哈爾博物館之太子初次參禪像及菩薩半身像均帶有此特徵，上述半身像中菩薩長髮捲曲，往往以此作為辨認悉達多太子身份之依據（Luczanits編，《Gandhara》，美茵茲，2008年，頁25，273，圖8及編號195）。另有兩尊日本收藏中的作品可資比較（Kurita，同上，頁5，6，編號1，2）。

來源
日本私人珍藏