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Lot Essay
The present sculpture is closely related to two large (157 cm.) figures of Kasyapa and Ananda in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Zhongguo Gudai Diaosuguan, Shanghai, 1997, p. 29, where they are dated to the Song dynasty. Of particular note are the distinctive plump faces and small, delicate features. The manner of carving seen on the loosely draped robes is also quite similar, and all three figures can be seen atop a lotus base of nearly identical form.
A related figure of Ananda datable to 752, also with small facial features, although clad in slightly more elaborate robes and standing on an open lotus flower, can be found in the Foguang Monastery, and is illustrated by J. Li in Essence of Buddhistic Statues, Beijing, 1995, p. 152, no. 132. Another similar marble figure of a monk of comparable size (69.6 cm.), also dated to the Tang dynasty, is in the collection of The Royal Ontario Museum. See Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Buddhist Statues in Overseas Collections, vol. 6, Beijing, 2005, p. 1135.
A related figure of Ananda datable to 752, also with small facial features, although clad in slightly more elaborate robes and standing on an open lotus flower, can be found in the Foguang Monastery, and is illustrated by J. Li in Essence of Buddhistic Statues, Beijing, 1995, p. 152, no. 132. Another similar marble figure of a monk of comparable size (69.6 cm.), also dated to the Tang dynasty, is in the collection of The Royal Ontario Museum. See Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Buddhist Statues in Overseas Collections, vol. 6, Beijing, 2005, p. 1135.