A LIFE-SIZED TERRACOTTA HEAD OF VAJRAPANI IN THE FORM OF HERACLES Ancient region of Gandhara, 4^th-5^th century. Powerfully modeled, the face framed by dense facial hair arranged into long voluminous curls, wavy hair, a billowing mustache below a straight nose, and a full beard set around full lips, the eyebrows and pupils with cold paint.

Provenance: Arthur Huc (1854-1932). Marcel Huc, inherited from the above. Thence by descent within the same family. Arthur Huc was the chief editor of La Dépêche du Midi, at the time the leading newspaper in Toulouse, France. He was also an accomplished art critic and early patron of several artists, including Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec. At the same time, Arthur Huc was a keen collector of Asian art, a passion that he inherited from his legendary ancestor Evariste Régis Huc, also known as the Abbé Huc (1813-1860), a French Catholic priest and traveler who became famous for his accounts of Qing-era China, Mongolia and especially the then-almost-unknown Tibet in his book “Remembrances of a Journey in Tartary, Tibet, and China”.
Inventory List: In 1954, L. Magniette, bailiff of the court in Toulouse (Huissier), was ordered to compile a complete inventory of the collection inherited by Marcel Huc from his father, Arthur Huc, the so-called “Inventaire Huc”. The present lot is listed in this inventory as follows: “Serie de vingt deux têtes en terre-cuite. GANDHARA” (series of twenty-two terracotta heads. GANDHARA). A copy of the inventory list and cover page are accompanying this lot.
Condition: Very good condition, fully consistent with the age of the sculpture. Some firing flaws, dents and losses to exposed areas, the nose tip with a small old repair. Remnants of a varnish coating which was applied a long time ago. Some ancient pigment is well preserved, especially to the eyebrows
French Export License: Certificat d'exportation pour un bien culturel Nr. 185423 dated 3 July 2017 has been granted and a copy is accompanying this lot.

Weight: 10.2 kg
Dimensions: Height 48.5 cm (incl. stand), 32.5 cm (excl. stand)

This large terracotta head is an extremely rare legacy of the ancient kingdom of Gandhara, encapsulating the rich cultural interplay and hybrid art styles derived from Hellenistic and Indian influences. It depicts the bodhisattva Vajrapani, the protector of Buddhism, represented with the iconography of the Greek god Hercules, who was widely venerated as a hero and savior in western Asia during the early centuries of the present era. As a great champion, yet one who nevertheless understood the human condition, Hercules was easily assimilated into Mahayana Buddhism. Like other Gandharan bodhisattvas, he is depicted as an earthly prince with his aristocratic bearing and posture, but the naturalistic face is reminiscent of Greco-Roman sculpture.

The kingdom of Gandhara lasted from 530 BC to 1021 AD, when its last king was murdered by his own troops. It stretched across parts of present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. Gandhara is noted for its distinctive style in Buddhist art, which developed out of a merger of Greek, Syrian, Persian and Indian artistic iinfluences. Gandharan style flourished and achieved its peak during the Kushan period, from the 1st to the 5th century. In the first century AD, Gandhara was the birthplace of some of the earliest Buddhist images.

The use of hard-fired ceramic instead of stone such as schist was popular during the later Gandharan period from the 4th to the 6th centuries. Fired clay was expensive in the area, because the wood needed for the firing process was scarce. Therefore, such an expensive sculpture would have been a highly meritorious Buddhist offering. Only very few terracotta statues from this period and of this size have ever been recorded.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related terracotta head of Dionysos, dated to the 4^th-5^th century Gandharan, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1979.507.2. Sculptures with similarly substantial beards are also common to Gandharan Atlantes, see Zwalf, Gandharan Sculpture, London, 1990, pp. 208-10 and 216, nos. 362-64, 366, and 377.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2 April 2019, lot 3105
Estimate: HKD 1,500,000 or approx. EUR 199,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A monumental terracotta statue of Vajrapani in the form of Hercules, Gandhara, 4^th-5^th century
Expert remark: Compare the similar facial features and the wavy beard and hair. Note that the provenance of this statue is identical to the present lot and stated as “Collection of Arthur Huc (1854-1932), France, by repute.”

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 2 October 2018, lot 4
Price: HKD 625,000 or approx. EUR 85,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze inlaid marble head of a bearded man, ancient region of Gandhara, circa 3rd century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related wavy beard and hair as well as the similar size (31 cm). Note that the head is carved from marble with bronze-inlaid eyes, and is dated slightly earlier.



陶土金剛手菩薩神頭像呈赫拉克勒斯形象
犍陀羅, 四至五世紀。高大，比例勻稱，骨架分明，肌肉健碩。面部表情沉靜肅穆，捲髮，小鬍子，豐滿的嘴唇，眉毛和瞳孔上色。

來源：Arthur Huc (1854-1932)收藏。Marcel Huc繼承，自此保存在同一家族至今。Arthur Huc是La Dépêchedu Midi的主編，這是當時法國圖盧茲的主要報紙。他還是一位出色的藝術評論家，也是包括Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec在內的幾位藝術家的早期贊助人。同時，Arthur Huc是一位熱衷於亞洲藝術的收藏家，他的熱情源於他的傳奇祖先Evariste Régis Huc，中文名為古察伯（1813-1860），是法國天主教神父和旅行作家，在他的《韃靼西藏旅行記》書中描述了他在清朝的遊歷以及對蒙古尤其是當時幾乎鮮為人知的西藏的敘述。
收藏清單：1954年，圖盧茲法院法警 L. Magniette奉命對Marcel Huc從其父親Arthur Huc繼承的收藏品進行完整目錄彙編，即所謂的“ Inventaire Huc”。此拍品也在當時列出的收藏清單中“ Serie de vingt deuxtêtesen terre-cuite。 GANDHARA”（二十二個陶土頭像系列，健陀羅）。隨附清單和封面副本。
品相：品相極好，完全符合其年代。 一些燒製瑕疵、凹痕和外露部位的缺損，鼻尖小修復。清漆塗層殘餘，彩繪保存完好，尤其是眉毛
法國出口證書：隨附2017年7月3日出具的法國文化財產出口證書的複本，編號185423。

重量：10.2 公斤
尺寸：高48.5 厘米 (含底座), 32.5 厘米 (不含底座)

這個巨大的頭像是古代犍陀羅王國文化極為罕見的遺產，包含了源自希臘和印度影響的文化互動和藝術風格。金剛手菩薩以希臘大力神赫拉克勒斯的形象出現。赫拉克勒斯在西亞廣受尊崇，是一位英雄和救世主，很容易就融入大乘佛教。與其他犍陀羅菩薩一樣，他被塑造成一個具有貴族形象的王子，但其獨特的容貌與希臘羅馬雕塑十分接近。

犍陀羅王國從公元前 530 年直到公元 1021 年，當時它的最後一位國王被自己的軍隊殺害。犍陀羅王國橫跨今天的阿富汗和巴基斯坦的部分地區。犍陀羅以其獨特的佛教藝術風格聞名，這種風格融合了希臘、敘利亞、波斯和印度的藝術影響。犍陀羅風格在 1 世紀至 5 世紀的貴霜時期蓬勃發展並達到頂峰。公元一世紀，犍陀羅是最早的佛教造像的發源地。

四世紀至六世紀後期的犍陀羅，普遍使用燒製陶土造像代替片岩雕刻。那時，燒製造像很是昂貴，因為燒製需要的木材極其稀缺。所以，如此稀有的佛像，是極有功德的供品。只有極少數來自該時期並且有這樣尺寸的造像保存下來。

文獻比較：
比較一件相近的四至五世紀犍陀羅酒神狄俄尼索斯赤陶頭像，藏於大都會藝術博物館，收藏編號為1979.507.2。類似大鬍子的造型在犍陀羅的阿特拉斯造像上也常見，見Zwalf, Gandharan Sculpture，倫敦，1990年，頁208-10，以及頁216，圖號 362-64、366和377。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2019年4月2日，lot 3105
估價：HKD 1,500,000（相當於今日EUR 190,000）
描述：四至五世紀犍陀羅陶土金剛手菩薩神頭像呈赫拉克勒斯形象
專家評論：比較相似的面部特徵和波浪形的鬍鬚和頭髮。請注意，這尊雕像的出處與本拍品相同，並註明：" Collection of Arthur Huc (1854-1932), France, by repute〔亞瑟-胡克（1854-1932）收藏，法國，有名望〕"。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港邦瀚斯，2018年10月2日，lot 4
價格：HKD 625,000（相當於今日 EUR 81,000）
描述：鑲銅大理石男性頭像 犍陀羅，約三世紀
專家評論：比較非常相近的波浪形鬍鬚和頭髮，以及類似的尺寸（31厘米）。請注意，這個頭像是用大理石雕刻的，眼睛是用青銅鑲嵌的，而且年代稍早。