Lot 3621. A limestone head of Buddha, Tang dynasty (618-907); 18.5 cm., 7 1/4 in. Estimate 400,000 — 600,000 HKD. Lot sold 500,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's

carved with a serene expression with beautific smile and slender downcast eyes, the plump face with rounded cheeks, arched eyebrows and a small mouth with full lips, framed by whorls of curling hair, the stone of dark grey patina, metal stand.

Provenance: Weishaupt collection, Berlin.
A private collection, Paris.
Eskenazi Ltd., London.

Literature: Ancient Chinese Bronze and Sculpture, Eskenazi Ltd., London, 2005, cat. no. 10.

Note: his finely carved small head is closely related in style to other heads found at the Longmen Caves, Henan, and it is possible it originated from one of the Tang dynasty temples there. For a published example, see Longmen Cave Institute ed., Longmen liusan diaoxiang ji [The Lost Sculptures of the Longmen Caves], Shanghai, 1993, p. 50, cat. no. 57 for a larger head now in a private French collection..

Sotheby's. Contemporary Literati — A Gathering, Hong Kong, 07 april 2014