part of an aureole

grey schist
Gandhara region, ca. 3rd cent.
high: 61 cm; wide 24 cm.

Th aureole originally consisted of two or three parts, fit together with a bronze or iron clasp. Very rarely the aureoles of seated or standing Buddhas are adorned with  adorants, or – as in this case – bodhisattvas.

See for instance: Isao Kurita, Gandharan Art, II, The World of the Buddha, p. 83, nr 212; p. 84, nr. 213.