Ca. 100-300 AD. Gandharan. A schist stone torso of a Buddha. He is depicted wearing a flowing robe (samghati) and a topknot (ushnisha), with losses from the waist down. Behind his head is a large circular halo. He is depicted with long pendulous ears and drooping eyes,characteristic of his depictions under the Kushan Dynasty, and his forehead is decorated with the dot called the Urna, which represented the third eye that saw beyond the material limits of the world. Though the hands are now missing, the position of the arms suggests his left arm was laid across his lap and his right hand was held up with the palm facing outwards, in a gesture called Abhayamudra. This gesture symbolised peace and safety, and it was intended to dispell fear. The Buddha form was used to depict both the original Buddha Gautama as well as anyone who became a Buddha by achieving Nirvana. The Buddha was not expressed in sculpture in Gandhara before the 1st century AD, before which he was only alluded to with symbols. From this time though, Gandharran art depicted Buddhas with a captivating mix of traditional Buddhist iconography and style, and the naturalism and soft features of Classical art, since this region was greatly influenced by the conquests of Alexander the Great many centuries earlier and the subsequent Greek settlers. For more information on Gandharan art, see Jongeward, D. (2019). Buddhist Art Of Gandhara in the Ashmolean Museum. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Size: L:385mm / W:250mm ; 8.9kg. Provenance: From the collection of a London gentleman; formerly acquired in early 2000s in Belgium; previously in 1970s European collection.