A grey schist figure of a bodhisattva, clad in a flowing sanghati draped over the left shoulder and wearing sandals, the bare chest adorned with multiple necklaces, the face with aquiline nose and heavy-lidded eyes centered by a raised urna, the hair pulled into a topknot, standing over a plinth centred by figures and columns Gandhara (Pakistan), 4th century (h. cm 55) on a modern base (defects and losses) Provenance: Private collection, Milan, acquired from Eskenazi Milan, 11 November 1983, original invoice The elaborated hairstyle is realised with two interlocking horizontal bands layered in an elegant elongated form and is typical of the Bodhisattva Maitreya. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings which have completed the reincarnation cycles and decide to renounce to the nirvana to stay upon the earth to help others. Maitreya, known as the Buddha of the future who will visit eart to teach the law of dharma, is usually portrayed with a complicated topknot and a water flask in his left hand