A RARE SANDSTONE SCULPTURE OF THE SEATED BUDDHA

NORTHERN WEI DYNASTY, 5TH-6TH CENTURY

Details

A RARE SANDSTONE SCULPTURE OF THE SEATED BUDDHA
Northern Wei dynasty, 5th-6th century
Probably from Yungang, shown seated in virasana with right hand in abhayamudra and left hand in varamudra, wearing loosely draped robes; the head of later date, carved with an elongated face with benevolent expression framed by the large flat ears below the simple lines of the hair drawn up onto the top of the head; the granular stone of dark buff color
29in. (73.7cm.) high, wood stand

Lot Essay

The pose of this figure and the style of the robes is similar to another larger figure of Buddha still within its cave or grotto at Yungang and illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji; diaosu bian 10; Yungang shiku diaoke (The Great Treasury of Chinese Fine Arts; Sculpture, vol. 10; Sculpture from the Yungang Caves), Beijing, 1988, p. 141, pl. 134.

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