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AN INSCRIBED LIMESTONE FIGURE OF It is extremely rare to find Daoist representations of this
LAOZI, SUI DYNASTY, DATED KAIHUANG kind dated to the sixth century, let alone one of this fine
17TH YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 597 quality. For a broader overview of the origins of Daoist
sculptural imagery, see Patricia Eichenbaum Karetzky, ‘The
the back with an inscription dated to third day of the second Formation of a Daoist Pictorial Iconography in the Tang’,
month of the seventeenth year of Kaihuang of the Sui Journal of Daoist Studies, vol. 10, 2017, pp 49-69, where
dynasty, stand (2) the author illustrates a number of pertinent examples
Height 14⅞ in., 37.8 cm
including: a related stone stele dated in accordance with
PROVENANCE 527 CE, depicting two bearded sages (perhaps Laozi and
the Jade Emperor) and three attendants, now preserved in
Eskenazi, Ltd., London, March 2001.
the National Museum of History, Beijing, fig. 3; and three
Intricately carved from dark limestone, patinated by years inscribed stelae from the collection of the Museum of Fine
of embrace, the present figure represents a fine example of Arts, Boston (accession no. 07.732 and 10.308), dated in
some of the earliest Daoist imagery ever produced. accordance with 587, 589 and 623 respectively, figs 5-7,
the latter – though Tang in date – being closest stylistically
Although the philosophy of Daoism is grounded in the to the present. For a recent comparable piece of early
semi-historical figure of Laozi (Lao Tzu), who is said to Daoist sculpture offered at auction, compare also a bearded
have preached his ‘Way’ in the sixth century BCE, the more marble head attributed to the sixth century sold at Bonhams
formalized adoption of his teachings into a recognizable New York, 19th September 2022, lot 265.
religion – with Laozi as a leading deity – did not arrive until
the fall of the Han around the second or third century CE. $ 40,000-60,000
These figures of a deified Laozi first emerged on votive stelae
and in funerary contexts alongside Buddhist figures around
the fifth century. With a pointed monk’s cap and bearded 隋開皇十七年（597年） 石灰石雕老子坐像
chin, these figures were immediately distinguishable
from their Buddhist counterparts. That said, seated in a 銘文：
meditative pose above a triptych of lions and an incense 大隋開皇十七年二月三日道民姜哲 造老君像一塸□□ 戊□
burner; carved with a serene rounded face and flowing 注界衆生同登上道
robes, this extraordinary figure is also not totally divorced 來源
from its Buddhist sculptural context, and represents a fine 埃斯卡納齊，倫敦，2001年3月
and representative example of the prevailing Sui dynasty
aesthetic, be it Daoist or not.

160 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N11744 A COLLECTING JOURNEY: THE JANE AND LEOPOLD SWERGOLD COLLECTION 161