Page 34 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art London Nov. 2019

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A LIMESTONE HEAD OF A BODHISATTVA The refined carving of the facial features, high elaborate chignon,
Tang Dynasty and very earthly quality of this bodhisattva, relate to several similar
The face gracefully carved with slender eyes barely open in meditation, examples from the Longmen caves; one is in the Avery Brundage
the nose flaring above a sensuous bud mouth, with pendulous ears Collection, illustrated in Chinese, Korean and Japanese Sculpture, San
and hair arranged into a tall chignon, traces of black pigment visible, Francisco, 1974, p.222, no.110. Other related sculptures are illustrated
wood stand. in Longmen liusan diaoxiang ji, Shanghai, 1993, pls.72, 77 and 79.
29.8cm(11 3/4in) high (2).
The present lot would have been commissioned by a family or groups
£8,000 - 12,000 of individuals hoping to accumulate karmic merit for themselves or
CNY71,000 - 110,000 their ancestors. According to Buddhist scriptures, such as the ‘Lotus
Sutra’, compiled during the first century BC, accumulating merit by
唐 石雕佛首像 means of constructing devotional images, temples and shrines, would
ensure one’s rebirth in the wondrous land inhabited by the Buddha.

Provenance: an English private collection, and thence by descent A similar head was included in the exhibition of Buddhist Art of the
Silk Road and East Asia: Transcending Time and Space, Fukui, 2010,
來源：英國私人收藏，並由後人保存迄今 pp.40-41, no.23.

For details of the charges payable in addition to the final Hammer Price of each Lot
32 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.