A limestone Buddhist stele Tang Dynasty, ca.670-680AD

of rectangular form with a hemispherical tympanum, carved with a central Buddha seated in dhyanasana upon a lotus base, flanked by Ananda and Kasyapa standing behind him and two bodhisattva holding lotus flowers, the edges carved with two lokapala guardians, all below a pair of flying apsara and a pair of sinuous dragons, flanking jeweled swags connected to a fragmentary central dragon, the base carved with a dedication with kneeling donor figures on either side (stand) 

From the estate of Dr. Warren Mellburger, Buffalo, New York, 1950s-1980s.

Small dedicatory steles complete with overhanging 'dragon-and-apsara' canopy, attendant bodhisattva, disciples, lokapala, and donor figures are very rare. Compare a small series, very closely linked in style and time, illustrated by Matsubara Saburo, Chinese Buddhist Sculpture, Tokyo, 1966, pls. 243(c), 245(b) dated equivalent to 679AD, 247(c) dated equivalent to 676AD, 248(a) and 248(b) dated equivalent to 672AD.