The ancient region of Gandhara, straddling the Khyber Pass in what now spans eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan, was for many centuries an important center of trade and commerce. Its position at the crossroads of Central Asia meant that it was exposed to goods and ideas from India, China and the Mediterranean world.
In the centuries before the Common Era (CE), the region came under Hellenistic control after Alexander the Great annexed Gandhara to his expansive empire; following his death, the region was controlled by a succession of kings of mixed Greek and Central Asian descent. Buddhism was already well established during this time, with the Indo-Greek King Menander and the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka both noted proponents of the faith.
It was not until the reign of the Kushan dynasty in the first centuries CE that profound changes in the religious art of the region were realized. The Kushan were nomadic horsemen from the steppes of Central Asia, pushed out of their homeland in Western China circa 160 BCE. After more than a century of migration, the Kushan seized power in the regions of Gandhara and Northern India. Astute rulers, the Kushan allowed religious freedom for their subjects and adopted local Hellenistic and Indian traditions, including the Buddhist faith. Prior to their rule, the presence of Buddha was depicted in art through aniconic symbols such as the dharmachakra (wheel of law) or buddhapada (footprints of the Buddha); upon their ascension to power, however, the first images of Buddha in anthropomorphic form began to appear.
In the ancient region of Gandhara, the sculptural tradition was strongly influenced by the Hellenistic style left in the wake of Alexander. Local artisans favored the principles of figural naturalism, in particular the athletic and heroic idealized body. The depiction of the Indian dhoti and sanghati, like that of the Greek chiton and himaton, presented an opportunity to reproduce voluminous folds of drapery with wondrous aplomb, as is evident in the present work.
This monumental standing Buddha- over life-size in scale-has come to be known as the ‘Kodisena Buddha,’ after the brief, but historically informative Khorosthi inscription on the figure’s base. The inscription was first published and translated by French Indologist Gerard Fussman in Bulletin de l’Ecole Francaise d’Extreme-Orient in 1985. Though the rightmost text of the base is illegible, Fussman read the remainder of the inscription clearly as:
Putrasa kodise[naa]sa danamukhe
Gift of Kodi-se[naa], son of…
While the textual reading simply informs the name of the donor, Kodisena, the inscription itself bares considerable epigraphic importance: the shape of the aksara “sa” in putrasa. As the character is written in the Kodisena inscription, it includes a semi-open loop in the lower section. There is agreement among scholars that this convention changed throughout most, if not all, of the region by the end of the reign of the Kushan emperor Vima Kadhdphises (c. 113-127 CE), as the shape of the loop completely opened. Fussman acknowledged the possibility of the old convention being employed in provincial workshops in the early years of Kanishka’s reign (c. 127-151 C.E.), but volunteered that this statue likely dates before the Kanishka era. He substantiates this dating stylistically by comparing the work to an image of Buddha minted in the early years of Kanishka’s reign kept at the Cabinet des Medailles de Paris, positing that the minted image must have depicted a historical Buddha image produced prior to the Kanishka era, as the contemporaneous works would not have been completed. In publishing this piece, Fussman suggests that the Kodisena is the earliest known Gandharan statue of Buddha. Fussman suggests a dating of 0-50 CE, though partially based on outdated standards on the chronology of Kushan empirical reigns (the Kanishka Era beginning in 78 CE, now traditionally believed to have begun in 127 CE). While re-examining the Kodisena Buddha in light of updated chronology, the work can now be considered to be dated around 78 CE, or possibly shortly after.
The Kodisena Buddha, monumental in form, presents many aspects unique amongst the typical Gandharan figures of Buddha known from the third through fourth centuries. Its unusual proportions, with larger features in the head and bust, and downturned expression, suggest the work was positioned at a high point, with the intention to be viewed from a lower level. The double-rimmed aureole is decorated with a lotus motif, while the inscribed base is otherwise undecorated. The figure otherwise displays characteristics more familiar with Gandharan figures: the monastic raiment is draped across both shoulders with considerable back throw, hanging naturalistically in u-shaped folds that reveal the contours of the body. The faithful rendering of the deeply carved folds of the garment, the face, and the ripples of the hair are stylistically consistent with figures that were faithfully produced in following centuries. This masterfully-carved figure embodies an idealized and transcendent male form. The heavy sanghati delicately models the muscular shoulders, torso, soft belly and rounded thigh. With the left knee bent in preparation to step forward. This subtle gesture, along with the undulating folds of the robe, allows one to imagine the fabric fluttering as the Buddha moves. Heavy eyelids frame the almond-shaped eyes, the forehead remains perfectly unlined, and there is no tension in the rosebud mouth. While activated with energy, movement and life, the Buddha is simultaneously in a state of otherworldly tranquility.
The effect of the monumental carving of the Kodisena Buddha provides tremendous sculptural presence, and with the inscription, stands as a rare, early, and academically significant example of Gandharan sculpture. Christie's New York most recently sold a full sized figure of Buddha, though a later example at 49 in. height for $693,000 on 22 March 2023, lot 356.