An inscribed limestone figure of Laozi, Sui dynasty, dated Kaihuang 17th year, corresponding to 597

Eskenazi, Ltd., London, March 2001.

Intricately carved from dark limestone, patinated by years of embrace, the present figure represents a fine example of some of the earliest Daoist imagery ever produced.

Although the philosophy of Daoism is grounded in the semi-historical figure of Laozi (Lao Tzu), who is said to have preached his ‘Way’ in the sixth century BCE, the more formalized adoption of his teachings into a recognizable religion – with Laozi as a leading deity – did not arrive until the fall of the Han around the second or third century CE. These figures of a deified Laozi first emerged on votive stelae and in funerary contexts alongside Buddhist figures around the fifth century. With a pointed monk’s cap and bearded chin, these figures were immediately distinguishable from their Buddhist counterparts. That said, seated in a meditative pose above a triptych of lions and an incense burner; carved with a serene rounded face and flowing robes, this extraordinary figure is also not totally divorced from its Buddhist sculptural context, and represents a fine and representative example of the prevailing Sui dynasty aesthetic, be it Daoist or not.

It is extremely rare to find Daoist representations of this kind dated to the sixth century, let alone one of this fine quality. For a broader overview of the origins of Daoist sculptural imagery, see Patricia Eichenbaum Karetzky, 'The Formation of a Daoist Pictorial Iconography in the Tang', Journal of Daoist Studies, vol. 10, 2017, pp 49-69, where the author illustrates a number of pertinent examples including: a related stone stele dated in accordance with 527 CE, depicting two bearded sages (perhaps Laozi and the Jade Emperor) and three attendants, now preserved in the National Museum of History, Beijing, fig. 3; and three inscribed stelae from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (accession no. 07.732 and 10.308), dated in accordance with 587, 589 and 623 respectively, figs 5-7, the latter – though Tang in date – being closest stylistically to the present. For a recent comparable piece of early Daoist sculpture offered at auction, compare also a bearded marble head attributed to the sixth century sold at Bonhams New York, 19th September 2022, lot 265.