ANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 3RD-4TH CENTURY

The frieze features a frame of a wavy vine adorned with seven four-petalled rosettes, enclosing a Buddha, a bodhisattva, and two worshippers. The worshipping figures are facing away from the seated Buddha, implying the scene might have been flanking a larger image of the Buddha.
Buddha is seated in the lower left corner in dyanasana on a lotus base, with his hands folded in his lap. To his right are two standing worshippers and one sitting bodhisattva, all facing rightwards in a devout posture with their hands in anjalimudra, the prayer gesture. All four figures have their hair styled in chignons and are dressed in flowing sanghati, with folds draped elegantly around their legs or laps. Following the Gandharan sculptural tradition, the drapery is depicted in a Hellenistic manner, naturalistically embracing the torso. The right border of the frieze features three figures arranged vertically in their coffer-like spaces. Their posture mirrors that of the bodhisattvas, facing rightwards with their hands in anjalimudra and legs slightly bent, offering homage to a central figure in its original construction.
Fragmented friezes like this lot are typically part of a long, large frieze containing multiple narratives, such as scenes from the life of Buddha (National Museum of Asian Art, Washington DC, acc. no. F1949.9a-d). Alternatively, these fragments may constitute sections of a monumental sculpture, often serving as base decoration. Compare this lot to a pair of frieze fragments at the Victorian & Albert Museum, London (acc. nos. IM.190-1913 & IM.191-1913). These two panel pieces exhibit remarkable similarities to the present lot, both in the shape (and possible function) and subject. More importantly, they offer insight into what the original construction might have looked like. A larger Gandharan quarter-circle frieze fragment was sold at Bonham’s New York on 21 March 2023, lot 528.