1943.57.7: Head of a Buddhist Figure
SculptureThe stucco sculpture is of a head from the neck up and facing the viewer. It is pale tan in color. The person’s face has a neutral expression. Their face has a round chin, a small mouth, a long slender nose, large almond shaped eyes, and thin rounded eyebrows. Their hair is up on top of their head in a bun with two rows of small tight circles at the hairline.
Gallery Text
What Is in a Head?
Figural representation often emphasizes the head and face. Eyes, ears, nose, and mouth hold particular potential for interaction with the viewer, and the face is frequently perceived as a mirror of the mind. In ancient Egypt, the Near East, and Greece, most depictions of humans and deities included the full body. This allowed the subjects to strike a distinctive pose, while their clothing indicated social standing. Portraits in head or bust form became common in Roman art and have played a major role in Western art ever since. The art of other cultures around the world also reflects special significance attributed to the head. The Edo peoples of the Benin kingdom in present-day Nigeria, for example, regarded the head as the seat of knowledge and decision-making power and crucial to a person’s, or in the case of a king, the state’s well-being. In this space outside the Roman gallery, several sculpted heads — self-contained images, a vessel, and statue parts — invite comparison across continents and millennia.
The sculptures place varying emphasis on accessories, such as the royal coral-bead cap and collar of the Benin bronze head and the “barbarian” floppy hat of the Roman marble head. Hairstyle and physique can express social roles and character traits, as in the case of the philosopher’s beard of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, seen here in an Italian Renaissance version, and the princely topknot of the Gandharan bodhisattva, an enlightened, compassionate being distinguished from other Buddhist figures by his depiction in royal Indian attire.
The individualized features of the ancient Peruvian stirrup-spout bottle — probably portraying a historical or mythical figure — contrast with the idealized face of the bodhisattva and the classicizing one of the Roman marble head of what may be a generic Easterner. The heads meet the viewer’s gaze with unemotional, controlled expressions that correspond to the codes and conventions of their time.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1943.57.7
- Title
- Head of a Buddhist Figure
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Work Type
- sculpture, head
- Date
- 4th-5th century
- Places
- Creation Place: Central Asia, Afghanistan, Hadda
- Culture
- Gandharan
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/202859
Location
- Location
-
Level 3, Room 3710, North Arcade
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Stucco with traces of polychromy; Gandharan style, from Hadda, Afghanistan
- Technique
- Stucco
- Dimensions
-
35.3 × 22 × 28 cm (13 7/8 × 8 11/16 × 11 in.)
with current mount: 49 cm (19 5/16 in.)
25.8 lb
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
-
[Yamanaka & Co., New York, 5/14/1941] sold; to Grenville L. Winthrop, New York (1941-1943), bequest; to Harvard Art Museums, 1943.
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
- Accession Year
- 1943
- Object Number
- 1943.57.7
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
THIS WORK MAY NOT BE LENT BY THE TERMS OF ITS ACQUISITION TO THE HARVARD ART MUSEUMS.
The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.
Exhibition History
- S424: Indian and Southeast Asian Sculpture, Harvard University Art Museums, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 10/20/1985 - 08/01/2008
- 32Q: 3710 North Arcade, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050
Subjects and Contexts
- Collection Highlights
- Google Art Project
Related Articles
Verification Level
This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu