Page 133 - 2019 September 10th Sotheby's Important Chinese Art Jades, Met Museum Irving Collection NYC

59 A ‘HUANGHUASHI’ LIMESTONE
CARVING OF A SEATED
BUDDHA
昳 湫
军 剙 SUI - TANG DYNASTY
Ⓒġġġ 䞛
晽 positioned in dhyanasana on a lotus blossom supported by a Ը๕
ἃ stepped circular base, dressed in a thin robe clinging to the body ッ渿䴚ɀ漸侸炻䲸䲬炻IJĺĹij⸜IJIJ㚰ĺ㖍
⛸ and laying in even folds over the chest, arms, and legs, the hem ἃ伭ΐ㕗ġĩIJĺijıĮijıIJĹĪġ⍲崓ỗ䈡ġĩIJĺIJĸĮijıIJķĪɀ㫸暚ằ
⁷ draping over the edge of the pedestal, the left hand resting on ⃟㓞啷炻䶐嘇Ĺijĺ
the knee with the palm turned upward, the foreÞ nger extended
and the other Þ ngers curled inward holding a round jewel, the
right hand raised by the shoulder holding lotus bud, the oval
face slightly bowed and framed by pendulous ears, a domed
ushnisha, and a round mandorla rising from the shoulder blades,
the stone a pale matte beige with ß ecks of lustrous yellow and
brown inclusions, stand (2)

Height 11½ in., 29.2 cm

PROVENANCE
Alice Boney, New York, 9th November 1982.
Collection of Florence (1920-2018) and Herbert (1917-2016)
Irving, no. 829.
The present statue of Buddha bears a strong resemblance to
one which is dated to the Þ fteenth year of the Kaihuang period
of Sui Wendi’s reign, corresponding to 596, and published in
Saburo Matsubara, Chinese Buddhist Sculpture: A study based
on bronze and stone statues other than works from cave temples,
Tokyo, 1966, pl. 214. In both carvings, the Buddha sits on a
rounded waisted pedestal, wears robes that fall in thick stylized
folds, and has a similar facial expression. Carved stone images
of the Buddha that bear this style of drapery and are set over
a waisted pedestal, include a Tang dynasty votive dated to
657, and published in Osvald Sirén, Chinese Sculpture from the
Fifth to the Fourteenth Century: over 900 specimens in stone,
bronze, lacquer and wood, principally from Northern China, vol. II,
Thailand, 1998, pl. 368; and a marble seated Þ gure of a Buddha
attributed to the 6th century sold at Christie’s New York, 29th
March 2006, lot 342.
$ 12,000-15,000

CHINESE ART FROM THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART: THE FLORENCE AND HERBERT IRVING GIFT 131