AN OVERLIFE SIZED FINE GREY SCHIST HEAD OF BUDDHA ‡
NORTHWESTERN INDIA, GANDHARA, 2nd/ 3rd CENTURY
£62,701
Auction: Islamic Art | Lots 1 to 66 | 12 June at 10am
Description
finely carved with gentle bow-shaped mouth, straight nose and heavy-lidded elongated eyes centred by a raised urna, the hair in wavy locks over the prominent ushnisha, mounted
Dimensions
32.5cm (12 6/8in) high
Provenance
Virginia Patton Moss (1925-2022), acquired in circa 1968.
Virginia Patton Moss (1925 – 2022), known as Ginny, was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Her zest for life and vibrant personality soon landed her an acting role in Hollywood, where as a teenager she was signed to Warner Bros. by Frank Capra. As a young movie starlet, she appeared in numerous theatre productions and movies, including the heart warming It’s a Wonderful Life, where she played Ruth Dakin Bailey alongside Jimmy Stewart. On its initial release the film had limited success however it subsequently went on to become an iconic Christmas classic and one of the best-known films of all time.
Moss’s talents extended beyond movies into business, where she designed, manufactured, and distributed women’s and children’s clothing under her own label ‘Virginia Patton of Hollywood’. Marrying at 24, to the love of her life, Cruse Watson Moss, Moss left the movie world to settle in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Throughout her life she was dedicated to family, community and culture. She volunteered in her children’s schools, performed as a concert pianist and served on the boards of museums and institutes, including the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments and the Archaeological Institute of America. She also worked as a docent of the University of Michigan Kelsey Museum helping to provide an educational service for the visiting public.
This striking Grey Schist head of Buddha comes from Moss’s personal collection and was acquired on one of her many travels with her husband, Cruse.
Cruse Watson Moss (1926-2018) was a very successful businessman in the Motor industry and set up plants and mergers word-wide. Between 1960 and 1970 he was President of Kaiser Jeep Corporation and it was during that period, his business travels took him and Ginny as far as Cambodia, Egypt, India and Pakistan. Whilst Cruse was busy negotiating, Ginny, would venture out into the country alone and learn about the culture of the country. Her enquiring mind brought about the acquisition of many artworks, of which this fine Buddha Head was one of them. It was while she accompanied her husband on a business trip to Pakistan in circa 1968, that Ginny acquired this Buddha Head and brought it back to the USA.