From the collection of Dr. J. G. Swart, Osnabrück, Germany, acquired in India during the 1960s, and thence by descent. A gentleman from Cadiz, Spain, acquired from the above. Michael Phillips Collection, Beverly Hills, California, USA.
Fine condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, losses, nicks, scratches, signs of weathering and erosion, structural cracks, encrustations, old fills.
The Buddha sits enthroned, instead of in the more usual cross-legged position, and holds his hands in the preaching gesture, associated with the proclamation of doctrine. He is the teacher whether as a wandering monk, as in the earlier tradition, or as in the later, a divine figure preaching advanced doctrines at celestial gatherings. The pose is commonly referred to as 'Hellenistic or European' as it was associated with the manner of posture and depiction of Greco-Roman figures at the time.
See a sandstone figure of Buddha, also seated in ‘European pose’ and with hands held in dharmachakra mudra, dated 5th - 6th century, 118 cm high, in the British Museum, museum number 1880.7. Also
Zwalf, Wladimir, Buddhism: Art and Faith, BMP, London, UK, 1985
