An important sandstone head of Buddha, Tang dynasty, late 7th - early 8th century | 唐七世紀末至八世紀初 砂岩石雕佛首

Collection of M. Raufast, Paris (according to the invoice issued by Samy Chalom).

Galerie Samy Chalom, Paris.

A Swiss private collection, acquired from the above, with a certificate issued by Jean-Claude Moreau-Gobard, Paris, 27th April 1967.

Sotheby's Paris, 11th June 2019, lot 51, cover and back cover.

M. Raufast 收藏，巴黎（根據 Samy Chalom 提供之收據）

Samy Chalom 藝廊，巴黎

瑞士私人收藏，購於上述骨董商，附巴黎 Jean-Claude Moreau-Gobard 於1967年4月27日簽發之鑑定證書

巴黎蘇富比2019年6月11日，編號51（封面及封底）

While originally thought to be from the Northern Song dynasty and linked to stone sculpture from Sichuan, stylistically this head is more representative of Chinese Buddhist stone sculpture from the period that saw the greatest flowering of China’s sculptural arts, the High Tang period under Emperor Xuanzong (r. 713-755). Under his patronage, Buddhism and especially Esoteric Buddhism, flourished, the number of newly founded monasteries and temples exploded as did Imperial and private commissions of Buddhist imagery.

Buddhist sculpture of this period is characterised by the very sensuous physical appearance of the deities represented. This head with his plump face, the elegantly curved almond-shaped eyes beneath sharply defined and arched brows, its well-formed nose and full lips recessed into fleshy cheeks are prime examples of the fully matured style of High Tang Buddhist sculpture. The modelling of the facial features is articulated with vivid realism, the serene expression of the Buddha endowed with the uttermost spirituality.

Stylistically, the head closely follows the style set by the monumental figure of Buddha Vairocana on the north wall of cave 19 in the Fengxian Temple at Longmen, Henan, built under the emperor Gaozong (r. 628-683) in 676.

The distinctive hairstyle rendered in thick swirls and waves is prevalent in most of the surviving Buddha heads from Longmen that are dated to the High Tang period. Throughout the Tang period, monks and pilgrims travelled to different Buddhist cave temples across China, thereby contributing to the dissemination of Buddhist practices and imagery, transmitting variations in iconography and style from one region to another.

In this way, the artistic style that is visible in Longmen provided a rich source of inspiration to Tang stone carvers in other parts of the empire, the influence of the High Tang Longmen style clearly visible in the present head. This type of coarse, slightly pinkish stone, likely to be from Shanxi province, is particularly conducive for high quality carving in the round, enabling intricate and naturalistic detailing of the facial features as displayed in this head. The head is fully worked in the round and leaning slightly forward suggesting that the head may have been part of a large freestanding figure or a figure with the head detached from the wall.

此佛首一度被斷代為北宋，並與四川石雕相關。然而，按風格而推斷，應屬盛唐玄宗在位年間（713-755年）中國雕塑藝術發展蓬勃時期之作。

此時期之佛像著重感官，本像面相飽滿，杏目微彎，眼眉輪廓分明，鼻形勻稱，嘴唇豐滿，屬於盛唐風格典型，如此面部造型寫實而生動自然，慈悲莊嚴。