A Rare Dated White Marble Figure of Maitreya Buddha

DATED TO THE 2ND YEAR OF SHEN LONG, TANG DYNASTY

Details

A Rare Dated White Marble Figure of Maitreya Buddha
Dated to the 2nd Year of Shen Long, Tang Dynasty
Shown seated with legs pendent and feet resting atop the heads of recumbent lions, the right hand raised and the left hand placed on the left knee, wearing robes falling in U-folds and forming a spiral on the right knee, the hair carved in somewhat faceted, chunky curls leaving the back of the head plain, the cruciform center section of the throne carved on the sides and back with Buddha figures seated within petal-shaped niches, with free-standing beaded supports at the corners and petal borders above and below, the base carved with the dated inscription, the stone now with a yellowish tint as well as darker staining from pigment, with traces of red, green, blue and black pigment
22in. (55.9cm.) high, stand

Provenance

Eskenazi, London, no. C430

Lot Essay

Compare the spiral treatment of the drapery folds over the knees with a seated Sakyamuni illustrated by d'Argencé in Chinese, Korean and Japanese Sculpture in the Avery Brundage Collection, 1974, p. 184, fig. 87, and the examples with similar oval and U-shaped folds illustrated by Subaro Matsubara in Chuugoku Bukkyo Chokukushi Ron (The Path of Chinese Buddhist Sculpture), Tokyo, 1995, vol. 3, p. 622, fig. b, and p. 624, fig. b. The beaded supports at the corners are similar to those on the base of a seated Buddha included in the exhibition, The Art of Contemplation - Religious Sculptures from Private Collections, National Palace Museum, 1997, p. 166, pl. 63.

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