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Lot Essay
This monumental head of a bodhisattva was made with clay and lime combined with a binding material applied over a wood core, and was then colored with mineral pigments. The ease of working with these materials allowed artisans to create larger-scale sculptural works such as this magnificent head.
Buddhist stucco figures were popular from the Tang dynasty onwards, and many spectacular examples have been found in temples in Shanxi province, known for its vast quantity of Buddhist monasteries. Compare a Tang dynasty stucco bodhisattva illustrated in Shanxi foujiao caisu (Buddhist Sculpture of Shanxi Province), Beijing, 1991, pl. 1. The present bodhisattva head relates to these earlier Tang prototypes in the rendering of the hair and elaborate crown, and finely-modeled features.
Buddhist stucco figures were popular from the Tang dynasty onwards, and many spectacular examples have been found in temples in Shanxi province, known for its vast quantity of Buddhist monasteries. Compare a Tang dynasty stucco bodhisattva illustrated in Shanxi foujiao caisu (Buddhist Sculpture of Shanxi Province), Beijing, 1991, pl. 1. The present bodhisattva head relates to these earlier Tang prototypes in the rendering of the hair and elaborate crown, and finely-modeled features.