A marble head of bodhisattva, Tang Dynasty | 唐 大理石菩薩首像

Eskenazi Ltd., London, 20th August 1999.

來源

埃斯卡納齊，倫敦，1999年8月20日

The fleshy face, almond-shaped eyes with lowered lids, and arched brows that elegantly curve to the bridge of the nose on the present sculpture are characteristic of Buddhist sculpture of the Tang dynasty. The high quality marble and the ability of the artist to capture the figure's inner serenity are further testament to the period of manufacture, when the Buddhist faith flourished and adherents spent lavishly on devotional works of the highest caliber. The faint smile and partially-open eyes invite a deep spiritual connection between the bodhisattva and the devotee, and encourage the worshiper to pursue the path towards enlightenment and salvation. 

For examples of other Tang dynasty stone bodhisattva heads of comparable quality and slender proportions, see four published in Osvald Siren, Chinese Sculpture: From the Fifth to the Fourteenth Century, New York, 1925, pl. 465; and another in collection of the Tokyo National Museum, included in the exhibition Chinese Buddhist Stone Sculpture. Veneration of the Sublime, Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, Osaka, 1995, cat. no. 64. See also a fourth example, featuring the hair pulled into a high chignon, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 5th April 2016, lot 2885.