103. * A GREY SCHIST FIGURE OF A STANDING BODHISATTVA Ancient region of Gandhara, 3rd/4th century 68 cm (26 3/4 in.) high Provenance: Private British Collection, acquired in India, circa 1920. Thence by descent. The prototypical iconography of bejewelled ornaments, draped lower robes, curled locks, and circular halo conveyed here reflects the entwined Indic-Classical style epitomising the art of Gandhara during the Kushan period (1st-4th century AD). Despite such clear Hellenistic references, the locus of exchange and foreign dynasties in the region left other stylistic imprints from Central Asia and India visible in this Bodhisattva's image. Bactro-Gandharan material culture reflected a confluence of Parthian, Scythian, and Indian influences, shaped by regional trade and producing a synthesis of styles appealing to a cosmopolitan local audience. Unlike the more common curls in undulating waves, the locks appear in parted vertical rows. This stylised treatment reflects Indic tendencies, evident in a head likely from the Parthian period (first half of the 1st century) from Taxila (Huntington, The Ancient Art of India, p. 117, fig. 7.6). The aureole with floral rays further references Central Asian influences in Gandharan sculpture. Several examples with variations of this design are attributed to Baujar (see Kurita, Gandharan Art, Vol. II: The World of the Buddha,2003, pp. 60, 100-1, nos. 148, 259 & 267), a region once controlled by the Scythians in the 1st century. Another example illustrating this same design along the halo sold at Bonhams, New York, 20 March 2024, lot 753.