Page 40 - CHRISTIE'S Buddhist Art Japanese Collections 09/14/17

As with other fgures of 6th-early 7th century date, this fgure has a slender
body, simple robes that drape gracefully around the body, with one end
draped over the right shoulder, and a serene, contemplative expression.
Compare the similar gilt-bronze fgure of Buddha dated Northern Qi, in the
Nelson Atkins Museum, illustrated by Matsubara Saburo in Chugoku Bukkyo
Chokokushi ron (The Path of Chinese Buddhist Sculpture), vol. 2, Tokyo,
1995, pls. 442 a & b, where one can see in the profle image how the neck
inclines forward in the same manner as that of the present fgure. Also, like
the present fgure, the robes drape over the front edge, but the folds are
stifer and vertically oriented, and do not continue around the sides and back.
Another similar fgure is illustrated in the Eskenazi catalogue, Chinese works
of art from the Stoclet collection, Spring 2003, New York, no. 12, where it is
dated Sui-early Tang dynasty, 6th-7th century. The robes of the Stoclet fgure
are similar but do not continue over the edge, as on the present fgure. As
noted in the catalogue entry, the body and face of fgures of this period are
not as full as those of the 8th century Tang dynasty fgures, and the drapery
of the robes is also simpler. All three of these fgures exhibit a quiet presence
and spirituality.

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