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Lot Essay
The cross ankled seated figure represents most probably Maitreya or the bodhisattva of the Future, based on his seated posture and combination of hand mudras. This presumption is strengthened by the fact that Maitreya was the most popular bodhisattva during this early phase of Chinese Buddhism. Comparing the presented example, although rather worn, with many others, it seems not to be excluded to place this figure in the Guyang Cave. It has been suggested in The Art of Contemplation, Religious Sculpture from Private Collections, National Palace Museum, Taipei 1997, p.248, no.7, that sculptures with engraved facial features, like the presented one, are typical for the later phase of the Northern Wei period, after its capital moved to Loyang. As consequence these stone figures can be dated at the very beginning of the sixth century. Two comparable Northern Wei seated Maitreya examples are illustrated in this same publication as nos. 6 and 7. Two other images from the same Guyang Cave are published by O. Siren in Chinese Sculptures in the Van de Heydt Collection, Rietberg Museum, Zurich 1957, pls. 11 and 12.