A GREY SCHIST CARVING WITH A STANDING PAIR
PROPERTY FROM THE MOITA COLLECTION OF GANDHARA ART
Ancient region of Gandhara, 2nd - 3rd century

Almost carved in the round, the pair standing next to each other, the male character showing his naked back to the beholder and looking up to his left, dressed in a diaphanous and multi-folded gown with clear Greco-Roman influences, his female counterpart dressed in similar fashion, her rounded breasts protruding through the folds of her garment, holding up a beaded garland, her hairstyle reminiscent of Hellenic models, on top of her hair a blossomed lotus, the scene typical of Buddhist reliefs depicting the famous story from the Buddha's life of the Twin Miracle, also known as the Miracle at Savatthi or of Saraswati, 33cm x 15cm.

For a similar panel, please see Philipp Von Zabern, Das Buddhistische Erbe Pakistans; Legenden, Kloster und Paradiese, Mainz, 2009.