A RARE LARGE STONE HEAD OF BUDDHA

NORTHERN WEI DYNASTY, 6TH CENTURY BC, GONGXIAN GROTTO, HENAN PROVINCE

Details

A RARE LARGE STONE HEAD OF BUDDHA
NORTHERN WEI DYNASTY, 6TH CENTURY BC, GONGXIAN GROTTO, HENAN PROVINCE
Crisply carved with gentle expresssion, the mouth set in a slight smile above the well-defined chin, and the eyes partially closed below the arched brows, with large ears, the hair and usnisa simply defined, the stone of buff color
17 in. (43.2 cm.) high, stand

Provenance

Aphonse Khan Collection, Paris.
Companie des Indes et de la Chine, Paris, 1976.

Sale room notice

Please note that the date line should read Northern Wei, 6th century AD and not 6th century BC.

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Lot Essay

The sculpture at Gongxian in Henan province embodies the last stage in a process of Sinification that Buddhist art underwent during the Northern Wei dynasty. The figures have softer, rounded contours with gentle smiles, downcast eyes with fleshy eyelids and large pendulous ears, all of which can be seen in the present lot. In addition, many of the cave sculptures at Gongxian were carved in such high relief that they were almost free standing. The present head was likely carved in this fashion, as evidenced by the presence of carving in areas at the back, which suggests that it was not carved as a flat wall relief, and stood at least somewhat away from the wall. For further examples of stone Buddhas from Gongxian with similar facial features, see Zhongguo Meishu Quanji - Diaosu bian, vol. 13. Beijing, 1989, pp. 17, 21 and 29, where figures from caves 1, 3 and 4 are illustrated.

Technical Examination Report available upon request.

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