Maitreya
Sculpture
2nd century- 4th century (made)
2nd century- 4th century (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
A standing figure of the Bodisattva Maitreya with a circular aureole behind his head with a dog-toothed decorative margin. A segment from the top of the halo is missing as is the right arm from the elbow and part of the left wrist and hand. The figure stands against a back slab with his weight upon his left leg on a rough plinth with a double row of upstanding lotus petals carved along the top edge. He looks out frontally from eyes beneath heavy lids under an urna. His hair is loosely gathered back into a topknot with the back hair falling to his shoulders behind a pair of heavy earrings. He wears a plain rounded torque round his neck and a heavy double chain necklace with a large ovoid jewel in the centre. He also has a cord with three amulets slung across his upper torso. He wears an uttariya draped across his left shoulder with the ends wrapped over his upper arms and a long loop of the fabric falling in folds to below his knees across the right side of his thighs. His lower garment or paridhana is folded over below his waist and falls to below the looped uttariya with the ends on his left side. His feet are shod in sandals with thongs between his big and second toes. His missing right arm was evidently raised while the left hangs down by his body and appears to have held a small waterpot in his hand.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Title | Maitreya (Generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Talcose-Schist |
Brief description | Standing figure of the Bodhisattva Maitreya, Talcose schist, 2nd/4th century, Gandhara. |
Physical description | A standing figure of the Bodisattva Maitreya with a circular aureole behind his head with a dog-toothed decorative margin. A segment from the top of the halo is missing as is the right arm from the elbow and part of the left wrist and hand. The figure stands against a back slab with his weight upon his left leg on a rough plinth with a double row of upstanding lotus petals carved along the top edge. He looks out frontally from eyes beneath heavy lids under an urna. His hair is loosely gathered back into a topknot with the back hair falling to his shoulders behind a pair of heavy earrings. He wears a plain rounded torque round his neck and a heavy double chain necklace with a large ovoid jewel in the centre. He also has a cord with three amulets slung across his upper torso. He wears an uttariya draped across his left shoulder with the ends wrapped over his upper arms and a long loop of the fabric falling in folds to below his knees across the right side of his thighs. His lower garment or paridhana is folded over below his waist and falls to below the looped uttariya with the ends on his left side. His feet are shod in sandals with thongs between his big and second toes. His missing right arm was evidently raised while the left hangs down by his body and appears to have held a small waterpot in his hand. |
Dimensions |
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Style | |
Credit line | Purchased from Mrs Begbie |
Object history | Purchased from Mrs Begbie, 67 Parliament Hill Mansions Highgate Road, N.W. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project. RP 1910-955M |
Subject depicted | |
Collection | |
Accession number | IM.11-1910 |
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Record created | May 2, 2002 |
Record URL |
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