NOTES
This sculpture is probably a representation of the Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, who waits in Tusita heaven for the right time to manifest on Earth in human form. He is portrayed as a young prince in his prime with defined musculature. His right hand, now lost, would have been raised in the “fear not” gesture (abhaya mudrā). His left hand, would have held a vessel (kamaṇḍalu) containing the elixir of immortality (amṛta).
The first images of Maitreya appeared in the region of Gandhara (spanning modern eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan). Greek military commander Alexander the Great conquered this region in the 4th century BCE. The drapery of this bodhisattva is reminiscent of Hellenistic (Greek) sculpture, testifying to the profound cosmopolitan influences on Gandharan art.
