Head of a donor, or god Indra
Bāgh Gaï - Figure
Mustached but without a beard, the figure is wearing a laurel crown. His hair is very stylised and consists of perfectly round curls framing the face. The slightly sunken eyes give him an expressive character. A typically Indian element is superimposed on this face with Hellenistic features: the enlarged earlobes.
Observation :This head is part of the decoration of a vestibule of Vihāra 56 of Bāgh Gaï, restored to the Guimet Museum. On one panel, three pointed arches housed three Buddha figures. The spandrels were occupied by this figure, which Barthoux calls the " laurelled barbarian ", as well as by the HADB figure n° 134. The headdress of the figure could invite identification as the god Indra. However, one would expect to find the god Brahma represented as his counterpart in the second spandrel. However, HADB no. 135 wears a complex pearl diadem that does not fit the traditional hairstyle of the god Brahma. HADB no. 134 could be a deity, a Bodhisattva or a female donor. In the latter case, it is possible that HADB no. 133 and HADB no. 134 represent a male and female donor.
Bibliographical References :BARTHOUX Jules - 1930 - Les Fouilles de Haḍḍa, Figures et Figurines - Pl. 57 b
