A SCHIST HEAD OF SIDDHARTHAANCIENT REGION OF GANDHARA, 3RD/4TH CENTURY 10 1/2 in. (26.7 cm) high 犍陀羅 三/四世紀 片岩悉達多太子像 Epassing Northeastern Afghanistan and Northwestern Pakistan, the ancient region of Gandhara stood at the crossroads between the Mediterranean, the Near East, India, and Central Asia. The sculptural heritage of Gandhara is a product of local adaptations of elements from near and far, often resulting in a wonderfully cosmopolitan style. This head of a bodhisattva dons an elaborate Kushan turban, detailed with restraining bands, cut and set stones, plaques in the form of auspicious drakes and Indic makara heads, and ruffled fabric surrounding a crest depicting a maiden standing before a pair of eagle wings. The crest's motif is most likely derived from an episode in the Jataka tales in which a queen is abducted by Garuda, a mythical eagle. See Gandharan sculptures featuring this motif in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1980.325) and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (IS.5-1973). The reference to a narrative from the Jataka tales, which recount the previous lives of the bodhisattva who went on to be reborn as Siddhartha Gautama, suggests the subject of this sculpture is likely prince Siddhartha. For a detailed discussion and a closely related example from the same Dutch collection, see , New York, 23 July 2020, lot 809. Also see a head of a bodhisattva with a similar, but iplete turban sold at , New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3067, and another head of lesser condition with the same crest motif sold at Christie's, New York, 21 September 2021, lot 440. Provenance: Private Dutch Collection by 1958 Thence by descent