+MAN, stone, Gandhara, 4th century AD

The stone sculpture (English: schist) depicts a man in modest attire, probably a Bodhisattva. His hair is tied with a headband, and he wears cascading carved trousers. The plastic, naturalistic, slightly idealized way of presenting the figure refers to ancient Greek art as well as the stylization of traditional Indian art.

The art of the region of ancient Gandhara is often called Greco-Buddhist art, because the inhabitants of Gandhara drew abundantly from Greek art, and the oldest known representations of Buddha from this region, dating from the 1st century AD, are often compared to Greek statues of Apollo. From the 4th century BC, or the time of Alexander the Great's conquests, Greek settlers founded cities in this area, which resulted in an intensive cultural and material exchange of the inhabitants of this region with the Greek and Roman worlds lasting for several centuries.

Information:

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gand/hd_gand.htm

https:/l.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhara

auction results:

https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-a-gandhara-schist-figure-of-a-bodhisattva-4350242/ from=searchresults&intObjectID=4350242

https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/indian-himalayan-southeast-asian-art-n09319/lot.1066.html?locale=en

/Standing man - Bodhisattva, Gandhara, schist, 1-5 century AD/