Torso of a Standing Buddha
date: label: Date
content: 5th century
label: Period
content: Gupta dynasty
notes: label: Label
content: Located in central India, Mathura has had a long and illustrious history as a major religious center for Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. It is, understandably, one of the richest areas for archaeological discovery in all of India.
label: Label
content: Although Mathura was an important political center unde the Kushan empire, the religious images created by its artisans were predominantly Indian in form, unlike those of other Kushan centers that were influenced by Hellenistic styles. The most imposing of all Buddhist sculpture created by Mathura artists are those dating from the Gupta period (320-600 A.D.). Carved from the characteristic reddish-brown sandstone of the region, these figures stand frontally, with broad shoulders and slightly attenuated proportions. Despite the fact that these figures are fully clothed in monastic robes, it was the representation of pliant flesh that interested the Mathura sculptors. Thus, the drapery folds are reduced to a pattern of raised threads that fall in concentric loops over the body, emphasizing its sensuality. As a contrast to the restrained modeling of the Buddha images, Mathura sculptures of the Gupta period frequently are fitted with large ornamentally carved, floral halos. A lifesize standing Buddha, now in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, represents the classic Mathura image of the Gupta period (Reproduced in Benjamin Rowland, The Art and Architecture of India (2nd ed.; Harmondsworth, England, 1956), pl. 80).
label: Label
content: This small image of a standing Buddha in the Freer Gallery reflects the classic Mathura tradition on a modest scale. Although the figure has been damaged, its proportions and the reddish-brown sandstone are typical of the fifth century. The linear folds of the clinging garment are arranged symmetrically over the body. While both hands are missing, it is likely that the right hand displayed abhaya mudra ("fear-not" gesture), and the left hand held the hem of the outer garment.
label: Provenance
content: From 1940 to 1946
label: Provenance
content: C. T. Loo & Co., New York, from November 1940 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1946 to 1951
label: Provenance
content: Eduard von der Heydt (1882-1964), Ascona, Switzerland, purchased from C. T. Loo in April 1946 and lent to the Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo, New York [2]
label: Provenance
content: 1951
label: Provenance
content: US Government vested Eduard von der Heydt's property under the provisions of "Trading with the Enemy Act" by vesting order, dated August 21, 1951 [3]
label: Provenance
content: From 1964 to 1973
label: Provenance
content: National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, from March 1964 [4]
label: Provenance
content: From 1973
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, transferred from National Museum of Natural History in 1973 [5]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See C. T. Loo's stockcard no. NYJ-1: "Small torso of a Buddha in red sand stone from Matura, first Century A. D.," Frank Caro Archive, New York University, copy in object file. According to the stockcard, Loo purchased the sculpture in November 1940 in India. According to J. E. van Lohuzien-de Leeuw, the sculpture was acquired by Loo probably through Gabriel Jouveau-Dubreuil (1885-1945), Pondicherry, see J. E. van Lohuzien-de Leeuw, Indische Skulpturen der Sammlung Eduard von der Heydt/Indian Sculptures in the von der Heydt Collection (Zurich: Atlantis Verlag, 1964), p. 42. In 1942 Loo exhibited the sculpture in his New York gallery, see C. T. Loo & Co., An Exhibition of the Sculpture of Greater India: A Fully Illustrated Catalogue, exh. cat. (New York: C. T. Loo & Co., 1942), cat. 28 (ill.).
label: Provenance
content: [2] See C. T. Loo's stockcard cited in note 1.
label: Provenance
content: See also "Catalogue of the Von der Heydt Loan to the Buffalo Museum of Science: Loan Material from Baron Von der Heydt, as of March 1949," where the sculpture is documented under an inventory card no. 4648.3, copy in object file.
label: Provenance
content: According to information on the inventory card, Eduard von der Heydt purchased the sculpture from C. T. Loo in April 1946.
label: Provenance
content: [3] See Vesting Order No. 18344, August 21, 1951, Office of Alien Property, Department of Justice.
label: Provenance
content: Eduard von der Heydt exhausted all the legal remedies against the forfeiture of his property provided to him by the Trading with the Enemy Act.
label: Provenance
content: [4] Attorney General, Robert Kennedy authorized transfer of the von der Heydt collection from Buffalo Museum of Science to the custody of the Smithsonian Institution in March 1964. The collection was transferred to the National Museum of Natural History.
label: Provenance
content: In 1966 US Congress legislated transferring the title of the von der Heydt collection to the Smithsonian Institution, see Public Law 89-503, 80 Stat. 287, July 18, 1966. The sculpture was accessioned under no. 448111, see "Smithsonian Office of Anthropology Accession Data," copy in object file.
label: Provenance
content: [5] The sculpture was among 13 objects in the von der Heydt collection transferred from National Museum of Natural History to the Freer Gallery of Art, see "Smithsonian Institution Intramural Transfer of Specimens" memorandum, dated January 29, 1973, copy in object file.
label: Provenance
content: The sculpture was accessioned to the Freer Gallery Study Collection under no. FSC-S-13 and subsequently transferred to the permanent collection in August 1976.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Hindu and Buddhist Art (January 28, 1981 to September 24, 1981)
label: Exhibition History
content: A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970-1980 (November 9, 1979 to May 22, 1980)
label: Exhibition History
content: Indian Art (January 1, 1963 to January 28, 1981)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: C. T. Loo & Company (1914-1948)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: C. T. Loo 盧芹齋 (1880-1957)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Baron Eduard von der Heydt (1882-1964)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: National Museum of Natural History, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution
place: label: Origin
content: Mathura, India
topic: label: Topic
content: stone
label: Topic
content: Buddhism
label: Topic
content: Buddha
label: Topic
content: Gupta dynasty (300 - 699)
label: Topic
content: India
label: Topic
content: South Asian and Himalayan Art
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Transfer from the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1976.15
objectType: label: Type
content: Sculpture
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Red sandstone
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 32.5 x 15.5 cm (12 13/16 x 6 1/8 in)