Fasting Buddha Agate Ancient region of Gandhara, Kushan period

Acquired in London, late 1960s or early 1970s

Stable overall condition. Obvious losses to right knee, middle portion of right arm and head, as visible in catalogue illustration. Natural fault line in stone across back of sculpture. Accretion of pitch or similar amalgam at neck and left shoulder. Right shoulder reattached, original break visible at right armpit through right ribcage. Later drill hole of indeterminate period in neck cavity.
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Extant depictions of the Fasting Siddhartha are extremely rare, particularly in the agate medium. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, no more than three schist images of the fasting Buddhas have been recovered through excavation. Polished agate was a commonly used material in Gandharan culture, often used in official seals, jewelry and ornamentation, such as the magnificent bodhisattva jewelry so often represented in Gandharan sculpture.

The current work, a fine example of the finesse and sophistication of Gandharan stone carving, details the exact inverse of the perfected physical form depicted during this period. Visible are the individual ribs, the finely corded veins, flesh receding to the level of the bone, the taut and wasted musculature. The contrast of this extreme emaciation against the serene composure of the Buddha – seated cross-legged, back erect, hands folded in in the meditation gesture upon the lap – suggests a preternatural calm and steadfast resolve, both qualities supreme among those to cultivate for the ultimate goal of nirvana.

The image portrayed in the current work depicts one of two possible moments in the life of the Buddha. Historically, the Fasting Siddhartha was interpreted to represent the apogee of the asceticism and extreme body mortification practiced by the young Siddhartha. However, argues Kurt Behrendt of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the image could also represent the emaciated figure of the Buddha after his enlightenment experience under the bodhi tree,  during his subsequent seven week fast during which time he remained in an enlightened state of meditative equipoise. For further discussion, see K. Behrendt, The Art of Gandhara in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2007, pp. 56-58.

The development of Gandharan sculpture between the 1st century BCE and the 5th century CE appears to have mirrored the development and rise of Mahayana Buddhism, a distinct artistic departure from the aniconism of early Buddhism. Whereas the presence and teachings of the Buddha had historically been demarcated through symbolism – a wheel representing the dharma or teachings of Buddhism; an empty throne; a set of footprints; a stupa or reliquary mound – the emergence of Mahayana cult statuary found expression through the idealization of enlightened beings. Executed with classical Graeco-Roman style and finesse, Gandharan art combined both Indic and Buddhist iconographic and sculptural traditions with the vast legacy of Hellenism left in Alexander's wake. Buddha figures such as this provided the template for the exportation of the Buddha image across Southeast Asia and throughout the Buddhist diaspora.

It is likely that the shift from the aniconic phase of early Buddhism into the multiplicity of imagery of the Mahayana was partially negotiated by the prevalence of Graeco-Roman imagery and icon worship found along the Silk Road. Given its minute scale, it is possible that the current work was used as a personal devotional icon or meditational device. The transportable icon or shrine was a common feature of the Silk Road, utilized by merchants, mendicants and mercenaries alike, in order to maintain and practices of worship and belief.

Compare with a circa 3rd Century schist Fasting Buddha Shakyamuni, Ancient region of Gandhara, Kushan period, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession no. 1987.218.5. See also a superb Fasting Siddharta from Sikri in the Lahore Museum, see I. Lyons and H. Ingholt, Gandharan Art in Pakistan, New York, 1957, pl. 52.  For further discussion, see M. Lerner and S. Kossak, The Lotus Transcendent: Indian and Southeast Asian Art from the Samuel Eilenberg Collection, New York, 1991, pp. 84-85.