74 cm.（29 1/8 in.）long

Provenance：
A Japanese Private Collection，acquired in the 1990s

Gandharan art，also known as “Greco-Buddhist art”，is a cultural integration of Western Greek culture and Indian Buddhist artifacts. Greco-Buddhist art is characterized by the strong idealistic realism and aesthetic description of Hellenistic art with the first depiction of Buddha in human forms through artistic creations. It is also seen as one of the most influential examples of cultural syncretism between Eastern and Western traditions in ancient times.
Earlier Buddhist art appeared in the Gandharan region around the 1st Century AD，where the Buddha was represented in much simpler forms such as a Buddhist symbol or a foot print. Gandharan art began to flourish in the 2nd and 3rd Century under the rule of the Kushan dynasty，as the Hellenistic style was widely adopted by Gandharan artisans，they began to sculpt and paint the Buddha under the principles of realistic idealism. Therefore，the very first depictions of the Buddha in human form were made by artists of Kushan Gandhara，as well as the first depictions of bodhisattvas. For example，the Buddha is portrayed in a human-sized statue with a heroic idealized body，wearing a gracefully draped long robe. His hair is short，with locks of curly hair knotted over the ushnisha. Always in a serene expression，his hands were usually posed in different symbolic gestures. On the other hand，depictions were also portrayed in reliefs illustrating fine narrative biography of Siddhartha Gautama in his different stages of life before he reached enlightenment and became a Buddha，and these reliefs are usually placed in the interior panel of shrines.
In the 19th Century，many Western archaeologists travelled to Peshawar，the North Western region of Pakistan，and the North Eastern region of Afghanistan to conduct extensive archeological research on the Gandharan civilization sites and discovered large amount of stucco sculptures and reliefs of the style which is evident in the present work. However，due to the fall of the Kushan dynasty，Gandharan Buddhist art began to diminish in the late 4th Century to the beginning of 5th Century.
This finely carved dark grey schist relief is an important work and an extremely rare example of a relief combining two important scenes representing the death of Buddha. The right side of the relief displays Buddha lying on the center of his death bed，while the left one illustrates the cremation ceremony. A Greek-style pillar lies in the middle of the two reliefs separating the two distinctive scenes. Buddha passed away at the age of eighty，reclining in a grove of trees in order to reach nirvana. Surrounded by nine monastic devotees in various states of grief，the Buddha is seen lying on his left shoulder and resting his head on the left hand in a state of comfort. One quiet devotee is depicted sitting with his back facing the viewer；he doesn’t feel a need for sorrow as he realizes that the Buddha has reached the ultimate spiritual goal of nirvana. The second relief recalls the story of the Buddha’s death，after which he was cremated with four devotees standing on each side of the flame. The number “eight” represents the diverse background of his devotees，as well as how his remains would then be divided into eight portions and buried under stupas in areas of northern India，Pakistan，and Nepal that were associated with significant events in his life. Both of these scenes display masterful craftsmanship from the Gandharan period and embody deep religious significance.
This piece of relief was created back in the 2nd-3rd Century AD，this is a very well preserved and rare piece that is so large in size depicting the two scenes associated with the death of Buddha. Another example depicting scenes of both the Buddha’s death and his cremation is illustrated in Gandharan Art（I）— The Buddha’s Life Story，Tokyo，2003，p. 250，pl. 507；and another example in Gandharan Art In Pakistan，Patheon Books Inc，New York，1957，pl. 142. Examples of reliefs depicting just one of the two scenes，either the death or the cremation are more common. Examples are illustrated in Gandharan Art from The Hirayama Collection，The Hirayama Ikuo Silk Road Foundation，Japan，2007，p. 45 & 47；and others in Gandharan Art in Pakistan，op. cit，1957，pl. 137-142.

Price estimate:
HKD：600,000-800,000
USD：77,400-103,200

Auction Result:
HKD: --