Greco-Buddhist art of Gandara, circa 200-300 AD A finely polished dark grey schist head representing Atlas, his eyes are almond shaped, underneath arched eyebrows which are angled, giving him a stern attentive impression, his forehead with wrinkles and long classical-style nose, thick tufts of hair, bearded with a moustache. The Greco-Roman deity Atlas was sentenced to hold the celestial sphere for eternity after his participation in the titanomachy. A drawn-out battle between the Titans and the Olympians. The Greco-Buddhist stylisation of Atlas normally depicts him with large encompassing wings which provide him with stylisation of a super-human appearance which is often interlaced with the imagery of Hercules. For similar see The Santa Barbara Museum of Art: Accession number: 2019.36.9. Size: L:360mm / W:220mm ; 30+kg. Provenance: Property of a London Ancient Art gallery; formerly with H.G. private UK collection; acquired in Japan before 2003; previously in a Japanese collection since the 1960s.