Head of the Buddha

The head is a fragment with break lines at the neck and at the back of the head in a plane parallel to the face. Most striking about the head is its color. A fairly homogenous deep brown color covers the face and hair. More grey tones are seen on the break surfaces. Gilt surfaces are also present; the eye balls are completely covered and traces of gold are also seen on the lips, nose, ears, and cheeks.

Historical period(s)
2nd century
Medium
Schist with traces of gold leaf
Dimensions
H x W x D (head): 32.1 x 19.2 x 24 cm (12 5/8 x 7 9/16 x 9 7/16 in)
Geography
Pakistan or Afghanistan
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1998.299a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Sculpture, Stone
Type

Buddhist sculpture

Keywords
Afghanistan, Buddha, Buddhism, Pakistan, Robert Hatfield Ellsworth collection, ushnisha
Provenance

From around 1967
Mr. Richard Gross Kopf, from around 1967 [1]

To 1998
Robert Hatfield Ellsworth (born 1929), New York City, to 1998

From 1998
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Robert Hatfield Ellsworth in 1998

Notes:

[1] Mr. Richard Gross Kopf brought the object into the United States around 1967 (according to Curatorial Note 3, Vidya Dehejia, April 21, 1998, in the object record).

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Richard Gross Kopf
Robert Hatfield Ellsworth 1929-2014

Description

The head is a fragment with break lines at the neck and at the back of the head in a plane parallel to the face. Most striking about the head is its color. A fairly homogenous deep brown color covers the face and hair. More grey tones are seen on the break surfaces. Gilt surfaces are also present; the eye balls are completely covered and traces of gold are also seen on the lips, nose, ears, and cheeks.

Label

This exquisitely modeled head, with its classical youthful features and wavy hair, incorporates two signs of superhuman perfection that set a Buddha image apart from any other. The ushnisha, or cranial bump on top of the head, a sign of the Buddha's omniscience, has been transformed into an elegant top knot, while the urna, originally a curl of hair resting on the forehead and symbolizing his renunciation, appears as a rounded dot between the eyebrows. The head still carries traces of the gold leaf with which it was once covered, and its brown surface coloring is a ground that was applied to the stone so that the gold leaf would adhere. 

This head was once part of a Buddha image clad in a monastic robe reminiscent of a Roman toga, which must have been installed in a major monastic center in the ancient province of Gandhara. The art of Gandhara may be understood in the context of the many Greek outposts founded across Asia by Alexander the Great (reigned 336-323 B.C.E), who reached India in 327 B.C.E. The Gandharan style exemplifies Indian Buddhist ideals combined with the Greco-Roman artistic tradition.

Published References
  • Thomas Lawton, Thomas W. Lentz. Beyond the Legacy: Anniversary Acquisitions for the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. vol. 1 Washington, 1998. pp. 162-163.
  • Donald S. Lopez Jr, Rebecca Bloom. Hyecho's Journey: The World of Buddhism. Chicago, December 2017. p. 187, fig. 20.
Collection Area(s)
South Asian and Himalayan Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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