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Lot Essay
No figure encapsulates the classical legacy in Gandharan art better than the winged Atlas. In Greek mythology, Atlas is a titan condemned to hold the weight of the heavens on his shoulders as punishment for his role in the Titanomachy. In the Hellenistic model, most commonly depicted on Greek vase painting, but sculpturally exemplified by the Farnese Atlas, a second century Roman marble copy of a Hellenistic sculpture, Atlas is depicted as a large, powerful figure crumbling under the weight of the earth on his shoulders. In the Gandharan context, the figure is almost always represented stout and crouched. He most often has brilliantly feathered wings framing a pair of broad shoulders. It is a figure less recognizable as a Greek titan, if not for its role supporting great weight. These figures were often placed at the base of great stupas or monumental figures of Buddha or the bodhisattvas. While their placement can be considered more ornamental than structurally integral, Atlanad figures are considered to at least metaphorically embody the concept of carrying the heavens, as Atlas was condemned to.
The present figure is positioned in a deep squat with hands gripping both knees. Arched wings wrapped in curved feathers frame his angular arms. He carries an intense gaze, mouth slightly agape, nose snared, and eyes bulging. He has an unusual receding hairline, with otherwise thick curls gathering on the sides of his head and hanging from his mustache. His lap is concealed by a large drooping belly and scant drape of cloth. The stone is highly polished and deeply carved overall.
While the present figure, and similar examples are commonly referred to as Atlas, their exact identity within the Buddhist world has been the subject of much debate. A. Foucher, in L'art Gréco-Bouddhique du Gandhara, 1905, p. 208, was the first to suggest that winged supportive figures of this type are disguised yakshas, borrowing wings from the goddess of victory, combining an Indian concept with iconographic elements from classical sources. Others have interpreted their wings to identify the figure as an anthropomorphic Garuda.
The quality of the present figure can only be compared to a few known examples. The countenance of the present figure, particularly the bulging eyes, closely compares to a finely polished winged Atlas figure at the Norton Simon Museum (F.1975.17.17.S). The Norton Simon example is speculated to be a pair to another figure which sold at Bonham’s New York, 17 March 2014, lot 66. Similarly sized, albeit slightly smaller than the present lot, these sculptures represent the larger known examples of the Atlas support figures. The present figure can also be compared to a figure illustrated by H. Ingolt in Gandharan Art in Pakistan, New York, 1957, p. 155, no. 385, which has a similarly styled corkscrew mustache.
The present figure, however, is markedly unique from these examples, both in posture, being planted firmly on both ankles, and carrying a more bulbus, less athletic body type. The symmetrical nature of this figure implies that had it been constructed as part of a series of figures forming a structural base, with this figure likely placed in the middle. For comparison of larger, yet less ambitious atlant reliefs organized in a variety of seated postures, see I. Kurita, Gandharan Art II, Tokyo, 2003 p. 158, no. 459 and H. Ingolt, Gandharan Art in Pakistan, New York, 1957, p. 154, no. 381.
The present figure is positioned in a deep squat with hands gripping both knees. Arched wings wrapped in curved feathers frame his angular arms. He carries an intense gaze, mouth slightly agape, nose snared, and eyes bulging. He has an unusual receding hairline, with otherwise thick curls gathering on the sides of his head and hanging from his mustache. His lap is concealed by a large drooping belly and scant drape of cloth. The stone is highly polished and deeply carved overall.
While the present figure, and similar examples are commonly referred to as Atlas, their exact identity within the Buddhist world has been the subject of much debate. A. Foucher, in L'art Gréco-Bouddhique du Gandhara, 1905, p. 208, was the first to suggest that winged supportive figures of this type are disguised yakshas, borrowing wings from the goddess of victory, combining an Indian concept with iconographic elements from classical sources. Others have interpreted their wings to identify the figure as an anthropomorphic Garuda.
The quality of the present figure can only be compared to a few known examples. The countenance of the present figure, particularly the bulging eyes, closely compares to a finely polished winged Atlas figure at the Norton Simon Museum (F.1975.17.17.S). The Norton Simon example is speculated to be a pair to another figure which sold at Bonham’s New York, 17 March 2014, lot 66. Similarly sized, albeit slightly smaller than the present lot, these sculptures represent the larger known examples of the Atlas support figures. The present figure can also be compared to a figure illustrated by H. Ingolt in Gandharan Art in Pakistan, New York, 1957, p. 155, no. 385, which has a similarly styled corkscrew mustache.
The present figure, however, is markedly unique from these examples, both in posture, being planted firmly on both ankles, and carrying a more bulbus, less athletic body type. The symmetrical nature of this figure implies that had it been constructed as part of a series of figures forming a structural base, with this figure likely placed in the middle. For comparison of larger, yet less ambitious atlant reliefs organized in a variety of seated postures, see I. Kurita, Gandharan Art II, Tokyo, 2003 p. 158, no. 459 and H. Ingolt, Gandharan Art in Pakistan, New York, 1957, p. 154, no. 381.