佛像鉴定鉴赏收藏

尺寸：H x W x D (head): 32.1 x 19.2 x 24 cm
年代：2-3世纪
质地：片岩(Schist with traces of gold leaf )
风格：犍陀罗(古巴基斯坦或阿富汗)
来源：美国弗利尔美术馆
参阅：外部链接
鉴赏：
This exquisitely modeled head, with its classical youthful features and wavy hair, incorporates two signs of superhuman perfection that set a Buddha image apart from any other. The ushnisha, or cranial bump on top of the head, a sign of the Buddha's omniscience, has been transformed into an elegant top knot, while the urna, originally a curl of hair resting on the forehead and symbolizing his renunciation, appears as a rounded dot between the eyebrows. The head still carries traces of the gold leaf with which it was once covered, and its brown surface coloring is a ground that was applied to the stone so that the gold leaf would adhere.

This head was once part of a Buddha image clad in a monastic robe reminiscent of a Roman toga, which must have been installed in a major monastic center in the ancient province of Gandhara. The art of Gandhara may be understood in the context of the many Greek outposts founded across Asia by Alexander the Great (reigned 336-323 B.C.E), who reached India in 327 B.C.E. The Gandharan style exemplifies Indian Buddhist ideals combined with the Greco-Roman artistic tradition.