Lot 50. A small sandstone head of Buddha, Northern Wei dynasty (386-534); 19.5cm (7 5/8in) high. (2). Sold for €19,200 inc. premium. © Bonhams 2001-2023

Well carved with a slightly elongated face rendered with a beatific expression, with downcast eyes below gracefully arched brows, with a gently curved mouth breakinginto a smile and a pronounced long nose, framed by a pair of pendulous earlobes, his hair swept up into a domed ushnisha, Japanese wood stand.

Provenance: Yokoyama, Inc., Kyoto, 9 December 1959
Collection of Sidney Berger, New York.

Note: The carving style of this small head of Buddha is characteristic of the style of the Yungang caves near Datong in Shanxi province, which were largely constructed between AD 398 and 494 AD under the Northern Wei dynasty. Buddhas heads with similar features are found in niches in Cave 5 at Yungang, illustrated in Zhongguo shiku: Yungang shiku, Beijing, 1998, pls.41, 45, 144 and 145. Compare also with two other heads attributed to Yungang, illustrated in Chinese Buddhist Stone Sculpture. Veneration of the Sublime, Osaka, 1995, nos.4 and 5.