A GRAY SCHIST FIGURE OF A BODHISATTVA, GANDHARA, 2ND - 3RD CENTURY
Seated in dhyanasana on a throne with his hands folded in his lap, the finely carved folds of his sanghati elegantly pooling at his ankles and spilling over the edge of the base, his torso adorned with beaded necklaces, the face serene with heavy-lidded eyes and raised urna surmounted by an elaborate headdress and backed by a nimbus, with a superbly carved frieze of a seated bodhisattva and numerous attendant figures at the base.

Provenance: Arthur Huc (1854-1932). Marcel Huc, inherited from the above. Thence by descent within the same family. In 1954, L. Magniette, bailiff of the court in Toulouse (Huissier), was ordered to compile a complete inventory of the collection inherited by Marcel Huc from his father, Arthur Huc, the so-called "Inventaire Huc". The present lot is listed in this inventory as follows: "Une Bodhisattva en schiste Hauteur: 83 cm. Gandhara" (A Bodhisattva of schist - height 83 cm - Gandhara). A copy of the inventory list and cover page are accompanying this lot. Arthur Huc was the chief editor of La Depêche du Midi, at the time the leading newspaper in Toulouse, France. He was also an accomplished art critic and early patron of several artists, including Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec. At the same time, Arthur Huc was a keen collector of Asian art, a passion that he inherited from his legendary ancestor Evariste Regis Huc, also known as the Abbe Huc (1813-1860), a French Catholic priest and traveler who became famous for his accounts of Qing-era China, Mongolia and especially the then-almost-unknown Tibet in his book "Remembrances of a Journey in Tartary, Tibet, and China".
Condition: Extensive weathering and wear. Few structural cracks, one of about 37 cm around the left knee. Some breaks, losses and erosions as visible on the images at www.zacke.at. Remnants of an old varnish coating.
French Export License: Certificat d'exportation pour un bien culturel Nr. 185477 dated 30.06.2017 has been granted and is accompanying this lot.

Weight: 105 kg
Dimensions: Height 83.5 cm

Auction result comparison: For a closely related statue see Christies New York in Indian & Southeast Asian Art, 12 September 2012, lot 531, sold for USD $218.500.

灰色片岩菩薩，健陀羅，二至三世紀
菩薩結跏趺坐在地上，雙手施禪定印，他的袈裟上精雕細刻的褶皺優雅地匯集在腳踝處，灑在底座的邊緣，他的軀幹裝飾著串珠，眼睛微垂，顴骨抬高，精美的頭飾，並有靈氣的光背，底座上雕有精美的雕紋，很多菩薩和眾多隨從人物。

來源：此像源自法國阿瑟∙胡克（1854-1932）收藏。馬爾塞∙胡克繼承，家族保存。1954年1954年，圖盧茲法院的法警L. Magniette受命對馬爾塞∙胡克從其父親阿瑟∙胡克（即所謂的" Inventaire Huc"）繼承的藏品進行完整的清點。 此批次中的現有拍品如下："片岩菩薩，高83厘米-健陀羅）。 隨附庫存清單和封面的副本。阿瑟∙胡克先生曾是圖盧斯市《快訊》極受歡迎的時政記者，直至1932年去世，他還是一個著名的藝術評論家。同時，他也開始收藏亞洲藝術。其收藏可追溯到額法李斯特∙雷吉斯∙胡克（1813-1860，中文名古伯察Evariste Regis Huc），一個法國傳教士，他在蒙古、西藏及中國的游記使他成名。
品相：廣泛的風化和磨損。 少量結構性裂縫，其中一條在左膝蓋周圍約37厘米。 如www.zacke.at上的圖像所示，有些斷裂，缺損和腐蝕。舊清漆塗層的殘留物。
法國出口許可：隨附《出口文化財產》2017年6月30日第185477號文件

重量：105 公斤
尺寸：高 83.5 厘米