Provenance:
New York Private Collection
Bonhams, New York, March 19, 2012, no. 1004
Greek Private Collection
A group of monks and lay devotees fills this relief, creating a vivid scene of communal worship. In the lower register, four monks wearing heavy monastic robes occupy different positions. Two appear engaged in conversation, while the others sit in contemplation or devotion. Above them, donors carry offerings and ritual implements. One raises a torch, while another carries a flower. A larger central image of the Buddha would have occupied the space at the right.
The naturalistic modeling of the figures and deeply-carved drapery reflect the Gandharan sculptural tradition, in which religious subjects were represented through forms shaped in part by Hellenistic models. The result is a lively treatment of a Buddhist gathering, in which individual participants remain distinct within the larger composition.
