Sandstone standing Buddha, China, Northern Wei dynasty, late 5th to early 6th century. Photo courtesy Ben Janssens Oriental Art Ltd.

Height: 94 1/8 inches, 239 cm. Width: 45 1/4 inches, 115 cm. Depth: 13 inches, 33 cm

This impressive standing Buddha of superb quality is an excellent example of Buddhist sculpture of the Northern Wei dynasty. The Chinese style robes suggest that it was carved after 486 AD, when the decree of changing to Chinese dress was published. The fairly full-bodied figure, the pleated garments spreading out in a fishtail fashion, and the combination of the abyhaya and varada mudra hand gestures are all typical characteristics of the Northern Wei style. These characteristics are particularly similar to the carving style found in Shanxi province at the Yungang caves. During the Northern Wei dynasty three carved Buddhist temples were under imperial patronage: the Yungang caves in Shanxi province, the Longmen caves and the Gongxian caves in Henan province. As the first imperial sponsored carved temple, the Yungang caves illustrate the development of Buddhist carvings of the Northern Wei dynasty. Emperor Wencheng (r. 452 - 465) of the Northern Wei dynasty ordered the construction of the gigantic rock-cut caves of Yungang in the capital at Pingcheng, nowadays Datong, to the northeast of Shanxi province. The initial five caves were subsequently established, which are referred to as the ‘Imperial Five’ by contemporary Chinese scholars, since each cave’s Buddha honours a prior Tuoba emperor. The images of the ‘Imperial Five’ are characterized by their colossal size (c. 14 - 16.5 meters high), and are comparable to other Central Asian examples, such as the former Bamiyan Buddhas (c. 38 meters high) in Afghanistan. During this early stage of Buddhist sculpture, Northern Wei craftsmen followed an established Buddhist tradition, which was under strong influence from Gandhara (northwest Pakistan and Afghanistan). Thus, figures of the Buddha from this period typically have deep-set eyes, strongly western facial features, stocky bodies, and often wear Indian style robes (dhoti). Beginning in circa 470, the second phase of the Yungang caves was established with a more complex architectural structure, when an innovative and completely Chinese style was used to depict Buddha and bodhisattvas. Three standing Buddhas in Cave 6 of the Yungang caves, rather than being dressed in Gandharan-style monastic robes, wear the formal costume of Chinese court officials; all-enveloping bulky dresses with ample sleeves resting on top of other layers of heavily pleated clothes with girdles. Towards the end of the Northern Wei period, especially after the Emperor Xiaowen ordered the transfer of the capital from Pingcheng to Luoyang, Henan province in 494 AD, these influences were further assimilated. The solid bodies gave way to elegant, slim figures such as the examples found in the Longmen caves, Henan. A closely comparable Northern Wei sculpture of a standing Buddha, similar in the hand gestures, layered fishtailed Chinese style robes with a girdle, also with an undecorated high chignon and flame-shaped mandorla at the back, was in the Cishi temple at Jiaochengwang village in Shanxi province, and now is in the collection of the Shangdong Provincial Museum. A slightly smaller Northern Wei standing Buddha, similar in the hand gestures, the Chinese style robes, and the undecorated high chignon, is in the Jinyatang Collection and was exhibited at the National Palace Museum, Taipei in 1997. Another comparable standing Buddha is housed in Cave 23 of the Yungang caves, similar in the layered fishtailed Chinese style robes, the undecorated high chignon, and comparable hand gestures with the right hand in abhaya mudra and the left hand grabbing the robes. A further comparable life-sized Buddhist votive stele with a flame-shaped mandorla, carved with a standing Buddha accompanying two flanking bodhisattvas, wearing Chinese-style robes with an elaborately decorated mandorla and dated 533AD, is in the Avery Brundage Collection at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

Ben Janssens Oriental Art Ltd (stand 202) at TEFAF 2014. 14-23 march 2014 - http://www.tefaf.com/