CHINA, NORTHERN QI-SUI DYNASTY (AD 550-618)

This finely carved head of Buddha may be compared to the head illustrated in The Art of Contemplation - Religious Sculpture from Private Collections, The National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1997, p. 135, no. 40, where it is dated to the Northern Qi dynasty. A similar delicacy in the carving of the facial features and the same serene expression can also be found on the head dated to the Sui dynasty illustrated in The Splendour of Buddhist Statuaries: Buddhist Stone Carvings in the Northern Dynasties, National Museum of History, Taipei, 1997, p. 200, no. 54.