A GREY SCHIST FRIEZE DEPICTING THE BIRTH OF THE BUDDHA GANDHĀRA 2ND/3RD CENTURY 15cm high, 24cm wide, the base 29cm wide Provenance: The Simon Neal Collection By repute from the Mohenjo Daro Temple, Pakistan, gifted to the previous vendor's father by the late Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfigkr Ali Bhutto in the 1970s. Relief sculpture in schist stone flourished in the Gandhāra region (which is now part of northern Pakistan) during the 2nd and 3rd centuries, when it was ruled by the Kushan emperors. The art form was mostly used to adorn the Buddhist reliquary mounds, known as stupas. Interestingly, the art of the Roman Empire was familiar to the sculptors of the region, because a large amount of trade between Europe and Asia was channelled through its mountain passes. Therefore, similarities with Roman art can be observed in the stance of the figures, the proportions employed, the style of drapery and the idealised facial features.