Head Of Bodhisattva. Grey Schist, Greek-buddhist Sculpture. Art Of Gandhara. Asia Statue

Head of Bodhisattva, in very high relief.
Bluish grey schist.
Circa II – 3rd centuries

The character is easily identifiable because, unlike the Buddha, the Bodhisattva is adorned and presents a sophisticated hairstyle and a moustache.

This early AD statuary, whose material corresponds to that in use in this region of present-day Pakistan at that time, allows the diffusion of the Buddhist religion which then develops with art as a medium in India and more generally in Asia. The ornamental register is however borrowed from Mediterranean sculptors.

The theme of the awakened being treated here is recurrent in Greco-Buddhist art. The Bodhisattva is represented under Hellenistic features, especially with its right nose, but its mustache or hairstyle testify to a custom with distant origins. We also notice the care given to the bun (ushnisha) but also to the ornament of the hair.

The attraction of the artists for this theme is indicative of the rise of Buddhism in this period in Asia, in harmony with a sculptural repertoire evocative of the Hellenistic presence in these lands trodden earlier by the armies of Alexander the Great. This mixture was allowed by the cohabitation between the Hellenistic culture of the new sedentarians in the local cults that have persisted.

Height alone : 8.66 inches
Height with support : 10.24 inches


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