A SANDSTONE STUPA DOME FRAGMENT DEPICTING BUDDHA, POST-GUPTA PERIOD India, 7^th-10^th century. Finely carved, seated in 'Hellenistic pose' on a lotus base, a stupa dome fragment rising behind him, the head backed by a beaded halo, his hands held in dharmachakra mudra, wearing a diaphanous robe, the serene face with heavy-lidded downcast eyes and full lips, flanked by long pendulous earlobes, the hair arranged in snail-shell curls surmounted by an ushnisha.

Provenance: From the collection of Dr. med. J. G. Swart, Osnabrück, Germany, by repute acquired in India during the 1960s, and thence by descent. A gentleman from Cadiz, Spain, acquired from the above.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, losses, nicks, scratches, signs of weathering and erosion, structural cracks, encrustations, old fills.

Weight: 28.8 kg
Dimensions: Height 41.4 cm

Literature comparison:
Compare a related slightly earlier sandstone figure of Buddha, also seated in 'European pose' and with hands held in dharmachakra mudra, dated 5^th-6^th century, 118 cm high, in the British Museum, museum number 1880.7. Compare a related sandstone figure of Buddha, dated to the 7^th century, 50.8 cm high, in the British Museum, museum number 1880.11. Compare a related sandstone figure of Buddha, dated 9^th-10^th century, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, accession number IS.238-1950.Compare a related slightly earlier sandstone figure of Buddha, also seated in ‘European pose’ and with hands held in dharmachakra mudra, dated 5th-6th century, 118 cm high, in the British Museum, museum number 1880.7. Compare a related sandstone figure of Buddha, dated to the 7th century, 50.8 cm high, in the British Museum, museum number 1880.11. Compare a related sandstone figure of Buddha, dated 9th-10th century, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, accession number IS.238-1950. Compare with a closely related sandstone stupa fragment published in conjunction with an exhibition held at the Palace Museum, Beijing, compiled by the Palace Museum, the Fujian Museum, the Zhejiang Museum and the Sichuan Museum: Across the silk road - Gupta sculptures and their Chinese counterparts during 400-700 AD, Gu gong chu ban she, 2016 nian 9 yue.