Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, New York, 31 mars 2005
A limestone head of Buddha, Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577)
Lot 86. A limestone head of Buddha, Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577). Estimate 18,000 — 25,000 USD. Lot sold 33,600 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.
the serene face with delicately carved features of slender almond-shaped eyes, above a sharp nose rising to arched brows, and a crisply carved bud mouth, framed by long pendent earlobes and hair carved in even rows of studs below the ushnisha the smooth stone of grey color, (stand); 7 1/2 in., 19 cm
Note: With its fine features this head is closely related to sculptures recovered from a hoard at the Longxing Temple in Qingzhou, Shandong province, where Buddha heads in many different variations were found; compare, for example, the Northern Qi heads illustrated in Qingzhou Longxingsi fojiao zaoxiang yishu, Ji'nan, 1999, pls.118-121; and others included in the exhibition Masterpieces of Buddhist Statuary from Qingzhou City, The National Museum of Chinese History, Beijing, catalogue pp.120 and 121.