Page 58 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art London Nov. 2019

37
A GREY LIMESTONE BUDDHIST STELE
Northern Qi Dynasty
Exquisitely carved with a standing figure of Buddha flanked on his left
by a Bodhisattva, the Buddha clad in plain flowing robes falling in neat
pleats, the face with serene expression beneath tightly rolled curls on
his head, all before a halo of lotus petals, the bodhisattva draped in
layered diaphanous robes tied into knots in the centre, adorned with
elaborate necklaces and crown, standing on a lotus pedestal issuing
from the mouth of a lomng sinuous dragon, stand.
29cm (11 3/8in) high. (2).
£8,000 - 12,000
CNY71,000 - 110,000
北齊 背屏式佛與脅侍菩薩立像

Provenance: Ben Janssens Oriental Art Ltd., London, 20 February 2006
John J. Studzinski CBE, London

來源：英國倫敦古董商，Ben Janssens Oriental Art Ltd.，
2006年2月20日
大英帝國司令勳章受勳者John J. Studzinski珍藏

The Buddha and bodhisattva on the present lot are similar to a number The pointed base of the stele would have fitted into the central cavity
of sculptures discovered at Qingzhou, Shandong Province in 1996. of a separate lotus stand. Tetsuei Tsuda points out that the basic
The sculptures in this group range in date from the Northern Wei to form of this type of two-part stone stele was developed from small
the Northern Song dynasty. In the present lot, the realistic portrayal votive bronzes that were popular as early as the 5th century, see
of the figures, as well as the simplicity of the Buddha’s attire, his L.Nickel, The Return of the Buddha: Buddhist Sculptures of the 6th
slightly rounded face and his hair style of tightly rolled curls all refer to Century from Qingzhou, China, Zurich, 2002, p.117. It is known from
a Northern Qi dynasty date. See L.Nickel, The Return of the Buddha: inscriptions that sculptures such as the present lot were commissioned
Buddhist Sculptures of the 6th Century from Qingzhou, China, Zurich, both by individuals and by groups of Buddhist laymen, as well as by
2002, nos.21, 22 and 25; another similar but larger, triad, Northern Qi, monks and nuns, and that they were donated for the accumulation of
is in the Aurora Foundation Collection, Taiwan; see Chen Hui-hsia and merit and good karma; see Ibid., p.121.
Lee Yu-Min, The Art of Contemplation: Religious Sculpture from Private
Collections, Taipei, 1997, pp.92-93, no.21. A slightly earlier related Compare with a related small pale grey stone Buddhist stele fragment,
stele is in the Musee Guimet in Paris, illustrated by W.Watson, The Arts Northern Qi dynasty, which was sold at Christie’s New York, 13-14
of China to AD 900, London, 1995, p.144, no.235. September 2018, lot 1133.

56 | BONHAMS