A STATUE OF THE GUPTA PERIOD

                               p. 107

            In 1914 I was studying  ancient  Buddhist  art in
        Slam under  the kind patronage  of the Royal  Siamese
        government.(l)      In      Bangkok-on-Salarei,     a
        resting-station  at  Wat  Prakeo,  my  attention  was
        attracted by a Buddhist statue that fascinated  me by
        its incomparable  beauty and which, on account of the
        softness of its handling had to be attributed  not to
        Siamese, but to Indian  workmanship.  Its  expression
        bore the greatest  resemblance  to a seated Buddha in
        Sarnath  of the  Gupta  period, of which  Vincent  A.
        Smith in his History  of Fine Art in India and Ceylon
        (p.  120), after speaking of the Western influence on
        Indian  art, says, "this  statuary  presents  nothing
        distinctly  Roman  or  Hellenic,  unless  it  be  the
        refined restraint above mentioned, which is not quite
        Indian.  Can  it  be  that  in  the  Gupta  age  some
        forgotten  sculptor of genius succeeded  in absorbing
        the Greek spirit into Indian forms? Who can tell?" In
        reality, however, the statue  was far more  beautiful
        than the one described by Smith.  It was full of life
        and motion, traits which are, indeed, not foreign  to
        Greek and post-Alexandrian art, yet occur also in the
        deepest,  purely   Indian  representations,  as,  for
        example,  in  the  representation  of  Siva.  in  the
        Deogarh   Temple  or  the  incomparable   Kapila   in
        Anuradhapura.   The  statue,  of  which   I  made   a
        pencil-sketch  at the time, has since then repeatedly
        stimulated   my  imagination.   In  1925,  during   a
        rest-period in my work, I sent the sketch to the best
        art connoisseur  in Siam, H.  R.  H.  Prince Damrong,
        with  the request  to look up the statue  and to have
        photographs  made  and  sent  to  me, no  easy  task,
        considering   the  countless  quantities  of  statues
        decorating  the temples  in Bangkok.  Prince  Damrong
        kindly carried out my request;  he immediately  found
        the statue and had photographs forwarded to me, which
        I here publish  for the first  time.  Prince  Damrong
        informed  me that he himself  had seen the statue  in
        Sarnath  during  a trip  abroad, that he had acquired
        it, and in 1892 presented it to the king of Siam.

            The statue  represents  Buddha, advancing  from a
        huge halo, with the left knee slightly  raised  for a
        forward step.  just as though this were the prototype
        of the representation  of Buddha pacing  through  the
        universe, so popular  in the later Gupta  age.  i The
        right: hand is opened with a welcoming  gesture  (the
        left arm unfortunately  has been broken  off) and the
        slender  body shows the typical Indian hip-modelling.
        The head is slightly  inclined  toward the front, and
        the mouth with its hardly perceptible smile, breathes
        serenity  and human kindliness.  On the two shoulders
        the  garment   is  indicated.   A  simple   neck-band
        encircles  shoulders and chest;  there is a classical
        delicacy  in  the  treatment  of  the  abdomen, which
        swells slightly  from under the tightly  drawn apron;
        there is an unsurpassable  calm in the parallelism of
        motion  produced  by the tilted  head and raised left
        arm.

            I do not hesitate  to assert that this statue can
        be justly compared with the greatest achievemrnts  of
        Indian   art,  namely   those   of  the   Kapila   in
        Anuradhapura, the Siva  and Parvati  in Elephanta, or
        the Siva Nataraja of Polonnaruva.

            Through this opportunity, which unfortunately has
        been long postponed  because of official work, I take
        special  pleasure  in expressing  my thanks to Prince
        Damrong,  for  placing  this  masterpiece  once  more
        within reach of' those interested in the great period
        of Indian art.
        ___________________

        1 Ueber    alt-buddhistische    Kunst    in   Slam,
          Ostasiatische  Zeitschrift, Jahrgang  V/VI, Heft  1/4
          and 1/2.
        2 A. Salmony, Sculpture in Slam, p. 54.