A substantial youthful and benign grey schist statue of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara on a plinth, standing erect wearing a dhoti and sandals with swags of beads and braided ornaments to the neck, sanghati mantle draped elegantly over the left shoulder; the face with pointed moustache, urna to the brow, copious hair bound with a beaded headband; the right hand raised palm-outwards in the mudhra gesture of reassurance, the left hand holding a censer; the plinth with segmented panels; mounted on a custom-made stand.

PROVENANCE:
Property of a London gentleman; previously with central London gallery; imported from the USA in the early 1970s; formerly with Mahboubian Gallery, New York since the late 1960s; accompanied by a original early 1970s black and white photograph.

LITERATURE:
See Zwalf, W. A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture at the British Museum, London, 1996.

FOOTNOTES:
The figure probably represents the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, who is said to embody the compassion of all Buddhas or 'awakened beings'. According to some early Buddhist teachings drawing on pre-existing Hindu tradition, the sun and moon are said to be born from Avalokiteśvara's eyes, Shiva from his brow, Brahma from his shoulders, Narayana from his heart, Saraswati from his teeth, the winds from his mouth, the earth from his feet, and the sky from his stomach. In this way, he has the role of 'primordial being' also seen in the stories of Vedic Yama and Avestan Yima, who are instrumental in creating the world from the remains of a single being.