Male nude

To the east of the main monastery of Bāgh Gaï stood the important vihāra B56, which housed a stūpa. Part of its decoration was dedicated to the modelled depiction of a mokṣa ceremony. A monumental and unfinished mural painting of the Conversion of Aṅgulimāla was also brought to light there. Drawings and photographs by Barthoux make it possible to reconstruct part of the décor of its inner enclosure.

In section C, a recess measuring 25 × 65 cm preserves the remains of a niche that once housed a draped throne, likely occupied by a seated Buddha. The drapery was held at each corner by two carefully modeled figures, while on the lateral walls, two small pedestals supported donors wearing Kushan boots.

The male figure is entirely nude and displays a musculature that reflects the influence of Western aesthetics. The pectoral muscles are clearly defined, as are the folds and recesses of the abdomen. The legs, powerfully modelled but treated in a somewhat more schematic manner, show the right leg slightly bent. The donor's head, visible in a photograph of the excavations taken by Barthoux in the 1920s, was missing by the time the object was photographed by John Huntington at the Kabul Museum in 1970.

Its symmetrical counterpart (HADB 482) is rendered with a slightly more refined treatment, both in terms of proportions and naturalistic modelling. The contrapposto is more accentuated: the right leg is extended forward, while the left is bent backward. The left arm is raised and held against the body; it supported the drapery of the throne. The anatomy is rendered with particular care, especially in the modelling of the pectoral and abdominal muscles, the knee joint, and the calf.