A SMALL SANDSTONE HEAD OF A BODHISATTVA

SCULPTURE

Details

A SMALL SANDSTONE HEAD OF A BODHISATTVA
TANG DYNASTY

The face sensitively carved with a small, curved mouth, small nose and eyes with a full lower lid below the crisp, gracefull arch of the brows, the hair pulled back and up into a looped topknot decorated with a flower similar to those over the ears, and with a foliate scroll placed just above the scalloped hairline framing the forehead, with a small square socket in the back of the head, the finely grained, pale gray stone with a sandy-colored surface (losses and minor restoration)
8 3/8in. (21.2cm.), stand

Lot Essay

Compare the similar, but larger, sandstone head of a bodhisattva (11 3/4 in.) from Tianlongshan, now in the Nezu Art Museum, Tokyo, illustrated by Sugimura, Chinese Sculpture, Bronzes and Jades in Japanese Collections, Honolulu, 1966, pl. 29