Description:

Ancient Central Asia, Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan, Gandharan Empire, ca. 2nd to 3rd century CE. An interesting and rare example of relief panel fragment, hand-carved from silvery gray schist, depicting a pair of dragons. The unusual serpentine figures present facing to the left, each with a slender body, 1 visible foreleg, the right hind leg extended, and the right hind leg bent and below a bushy tail, all surmounted by a single visible wing. The creatures crawl across the top of the integral platform as if hunting or defending their territory, and above them is a scalloped roofline reminiscent of the creatures' sharp teeth. Two carved attachment mortises on the verso indicate how this panel attached to a larger scene at one time. Size: 14.3" W x 5.75" H (36.3 cm x 14.6 cm)

Cf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1987.142.110.

An example with 1 dragon hammered for $5,250 at Christie's, New York "Indian and Southeast Asian Art" auction (live auction 2425, March 22, 2011, lot 235).

Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010

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#166079

  • Condition: This is a fragment of a larger relief panel as shown. Losses to some peripheral areas and small areas of each dragon. Softening to some finer details, with light encrustations, and chips along mortises on verso. Nice preservation to most dragon details.

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$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000