Head of the Buddha

Object Details

• Description

  The head is a fragment with break lines at the neck and at the back of the head in a plane parallel to the face. Most striking about the head is its color. A fairly homogenous deep brown color covers the face and hair. More grey tones are seen on the break surfaces. Gilt surfaces are also present; the eye balls are completely covered and traces of gold are also seen on the lips, nose, ears, and cheeks.

• Label

  This exquisitely modeled head, with its classical youthful features and wavy hair, incorporates two signs of superhuman perfection that set a Buddha image apart from any other. The ushnisha, or cranial bump on top of the head, a sign of the Buddha's omniscience, has been transformed into an elegant top knot, while the urna, originally a curl of hair resting on the forehead and symbolizing his renunciation, appears as a rounded dot between the eyebrows. The head still carries traces of the gold leaf with which it was once covered, and its brown surface coloring is a ground that was applied to the stone so that the gold leaf would adhere.

  This head was once part of a Buddha image clad in a monastic robe reminiscent of a Roman toga, which must have been installed in a major monastic center in the ancient province of Gandhara. The art of Gandhara may be understood in the context of the many Greek outposts founded across Asia by Alexander the Great (reigned 336-323 B.C.E), who reached India in 327 B.C.E. The Gandharan style exemplifies Indian Buddhist ideals combined with the Greco-Roman artistic tradition.

• Provenance

  From around 1967

  Mr. Richard Gross Kopf, from around 1967 [1]

  To 1998

  Robert Hatfield Ellsworth (born 1929), New York City, to 1998

  From 1998

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Robert Hatfield Ellsworth in 1998

  Notes:

  [1] Mr. Richard Gross Kopf brought the object into the United States around 1967 (according to Curatorial Note 3, Vidya Dehejia, April 21, 1998, in the object record).

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  South Asian Sculpture (February 22, 2000 to June 18, 2003)

  Beyond the Legacy--Anniversary Acquisitions of the Freer Gallery of Art (October 11, 1998 to April 11, 1999)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Richard Gross Kopf

  Robert Hatfield Ellsworth (1929-2014)

• Origin

  Pakistan or Afghanistan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Sculpture

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  100s, 200s

• Name

  buddha, Ellsworth, Robert Hatfield, Gross Kopf, Richard

• Place

  Afghanistan, Pakistan

• Topic

  South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Robert Hatfield Ellsworth collection, Stone, Ushnisha

• Culture

  Buddhists, Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Sculpture