Stone Head of A Bodhisattva, Northern Wei Dynasty

China, Northern Wei Dynasty, 386-534 CE
Dimensions: 10 1/3」(26.2cm) W, 18 1/2」(47cm) H (sculpture only)

Carved from a light cream to grey high quartz content sandstone, the head of a Bodhisattva with long pendulous earlobes, tall neck, elongated face with downcast eyes, arched eyebrows and a slight smile, the hair in thick folds held back into a high chignon with a leaf front tiara. The back rough and not highly finished. Modern field stone and copper stand.

北魏 砂巖石雕佛首

Provenance: Ex Leung family, Hong Kong

The high chignon or crown of this Bodhisattva or Buddha figure is seen in several statues of seated Maitreya Buddha figures of the Northern Wei Dynasty, one example in the Metropolitan Museum, New York and another in the Musee Cernuschi, Paris, both of which are connected to the Yungang caves and both dated to late 5th century CE. There are several stylistic elements of the face and hair which draw similarities between the Cernuschi statue and the current auction example – in particular the long earlobes, the downcast wide eyes, the smile, the treatment of the hair at the forehead, and the leaf form crown. However, both of these museum statues were carved from much finer sandstone which maintained details than the
auction example.

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/60010263 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/
P1140483_Cernuschi_Bodhisattva_Wei_du_nord_MC6332_rwk.jpg

Compare with a small 25 cm head of a bodhisattva, Northern Wei Dynasty Ex C T Loo and J T Tai collections in Sotheby』s Hong Kong sale of 13OCT2021, Lot 3676.
https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/important-chinese-art-4/asandstone-head-of-a-bodhisattva-northern-wei And a Buddha head 40 cm long in their sale of 01APR2018, Lot 3029, from a Japanese collection, described as Yungang style.

http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2018/curiosity-iv-hk0793/lot.3029.html

北魏 砂巖石雕佛首