A grey stone carving of a seated Daoist figure - Sui Dynasty, dated by inscription to AD 601

The Daoist figure carved seated on a lotus pedestal raised on a faceted pillar incised with a man supporting it and flanked by lions seated on their haunches, all supported on a rectangular plinth, his left hand holding onto a rail and the right holding a fan, wearing long flowing robes tied at the chest, the bearded face with a serene expression, crowned with a lappet headdress and set before an arched mandorla decorated with low-relief lotus petal panels and a black-painted foliate scroll, the reverse incised with a large lotus blossom on the mandorla and a relief lotus blossom on the pedestal, the base with an inscription on the front and sides. 34.5cm (13½in) high. Estimate: £8,000 - 12,000

Provenance: Bought in China in the late 1930s by the great uncle of the present owners. The original purchaser was subsequently interned by the Japanese in China and returned to Europe after 1945 with the present lot among many other objects, some of which were bought from the famous Hong Kong dealer Warren King.

Note: Dated by inscription to the first year of Renshou, corresponding to AD 601.

Depictions of a deified Laozi figure can be identified by the fan in his right hand. Stone steles such as the present example display a distinct Buddhist influence, such as the format of a large deified figure flanked by lions and the formula of the dedicatory inscription. A related stele in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, cyclically dated to AD587 is illustrated by Stephen Little, Taoism and the Arts of China, Chicago, 2000, Catalogue, p. 168, no.32.

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Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, 12 May 2008. New Bond Street