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A LARGE STONE HEAD OF A BODHISATTVA from the Longmen Caves south of Luoyang in Henan province.
TANG DYNASTY This mature style rendered Buddhist " gures in a distinctly
Chinese manner, and the image of Guanyin, the Bodhisattva
the full oval face sensitively carved with bow-shaped eyes, Avalokitesvara, grew increasingly more feminine in concept.
half-closed in meditation beneath slightly inset bulging eyelids The re" ned carving of the facial features, the high elaborate
and " nely curved brows arching down to the sharp nose, with
chignon and earthly quality of this bodhisattva relate to several
full lips and dimpled chin, the smooth forehead below neatly
similar examples from the Longmen Caves; one in the Avery
parted locks at the hairline, drawn up into an elegant chignon
Brundage Collection, is illustrated in Chinese, Korean and
secured by an elaborate ! oral diadem, stand (2) Japanese Sculpture, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco,
Height 19¾ in., 50.1 cm
Japan, 1974, p. 222, no. 110; and another, from the collection
of Arthur Wiesenberger, sold in these rooms, 11th September
PROVENANCE
2012, lot 118. Further related sculptures are illustrated in
Collection of Desmond Gure (1905-1970), until 1968.
Longmen liusan diaoxiang ji, Shanghai, 1993, pls 72, 77 and
Arthur M. Sackler Collection, New York.
79; another published in Ancient Chinese Buddhist Sculpture.
Christie’s New York, 1st December 1994, lot 158.
The C.K. Chan Collection, Taipei, 1989, pl. 9; and one sold at
Christie’s Los Angeles, 4th December 1998, lot 42.
Christie’s Hong Kong, 28th April 1996, lot 565.
Sotheby’s New York, 15th September 2010, lot 298.
$ 120,000-150,000
The pronounced aristocratic countenance and the serene
meditative expression of this bodhisattva head, rendered
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with a sensitive carving style and harmonious lines epitomize
the heights of quality achieved by stone carvers during the Ը๕
Tang dynasty. The ! eshy face, narrow slit eyes, arched Desmond Gure 1905 1970 ϗᔛdЇ1968ϋ
brows that meet in an elegant curve with the ridge of the ԭ๾sMsᒄдਔϗᔛdॲߒ
nose, and the coi+ ure with hair drawn up into a high chignon,
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are characteristic of this classic style of the early Tang.
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Sculptures with related features are particularly well-known
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112 SOTHEBY’S