No mention of any documentation is made - yet according to the laws created in newly-independent Pakistan (Mughal'Heritage Legislation in Pakistan'), for this to have been legally exported by any person who had somehow 'acquired' it 'while in Pakistan' such documents should have existed (the Antiquities (export control) Act 1947). In what manner did the dealer handling this object make certain that this documentation existed? Or has the dealer bought an item no questions-asked, not having seen - let alone received - any such proof?A Gandhara grey Schist Head of a Buddha, ca. 2nd Century AD $6,500 USD This well modeled head, with its youthful Hellenic features and wavy hair [...] must have been part of a major monastic center in the ancient province of Gandhara, in modern-day Pakistan/Afghanistan.[...] Provenance: Private Boston collection, acquired while in Pakistan during the late 1950's.
Or perhaps the item was exported not as an antiquity but a poor grade copy? The treatment of the hair, that crude shapeless nose with that odd angle at the bridge, the crude treatment of the alar crease and the general lack of proportions, together with the crude rhomboid (and crooked) eyes, do not really look like the real thing. It seems to me looking at this monstrosity that it is likely that somebody has fallen for a scam. Which buyer?
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