Kushan Dynasty
Mathura region, Northern India, Circa 2nd Century
Red-mottled sandstone
Height: 14.75 in (37.5 cm)
Width: 10.5 in (26.5 cm)
Depth: 4.25 in (11 cm)

The sculpture is attached to a wooden base measuring 4.25 x 8 x 5 in (11 x 20.5 x 13 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

PROVENANCE
Sotheby’s, London, 24 November 1986, lot 151
Subsequently in the Collection of Late Anthony Gardner, Director, Spink & Son Ltd.
Acquired from the above


Mathura emerged as one of the principal artistic and religious centres of northern India under the patronage of the Central Asian Kushan rulers during the 1st to 3rd centuries AD. The region’s workshops produced some of the earliest anthropomorphic images for the Buddhist, Jain, and Brahmanical traditions, typically carved in the distinctive mottled red sandstone native to the area.

This imposing standing male figure is depicted in Central Asian courtly attire, wearing a long tunic with deeply incised vertical pleats, which reflects the cultural synthesis of the Kushan Empire, where artistic and sartorial traditions from the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia intersected. It is carved on both sides, with a secondary figure on the reverse, indicating that it was originally intended to be viewed in circumambulation. Such double-sided treatment is rare in Mathura sandstone sculptures, and its presence strongly suggests the work may represent a donor or noble patron. Its deep pink colour, characteristic of this region, enhances its visual appeal. The museum-quality work stands at the threshold between presence and absence as a fragment that is surprisingly modern in its abstraction. The loss of the head and limbs shift one’s focus from individual identity to form, allowing the jewellery, drapery, and sculptural mass to attain prominence.

Kushan Dynasty
Mathura region, Northern India, Circa 2nd Century
Red-mottled sandstone
Height: 14.75 in (37.5 cm)
Width: 10.5 in (26.5 cm)
Depth: 4.25 in (11 cm)

The sculpture is attached to a wooden base measuring 4.25 x 8 x 5 in (11 x 20.5 x 13 cm)

NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY

PROVENANCE
Sotheby’s, London, 24 November 1986, lot 151
Subsequently in the Collection of Late Anthony Gardner, Director, Spink & Son Ltd.
Acquired from the above


Mathura emerged as one of the principal artistic and religious centres of northern India under the patronage of the Central Asian Kushan rulers during the 1st to 3rd centuries AD. The region’s workshops produced some of the earliest anthropomorphic images for the Buddhist, Jain, and Brahmanical traditions, typically carved in the distinctive mottled red sandstone native to the area.

This imposing standing male figure is depicted in Central Asian courtly attire, wearing a long tunic with deeply incised vertical pleats, which reflects the cultural synthesis of the Kushan Empire, where artistic and sartorial traditions from the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia intersected. It is carved on both sides, with a secondary figure on the reverse, indicating that it was originally intended to be viewed in circumambulation. Such double-sided treatment is rare in Mathura sandstone sculptures, and its presence strongly suggests the work may represent a donor or noble patron. Its deep pink colour, characteristic of this region, enhances its visual appeal. The museum-quality work stands at the threshold between presence and absence as a fragment that is surprisingly modern in its abstraction. The loss of the head and limbs shift one’s focus from individual identity to form, allowing the jewellery, drapery, and sculptural mass to attain prominence.