A RARE LIMESTONE HEAD OF BUDDHA NORTHERN WEI / EASTERN WEI DYNASTY, EARLY 6TH CENTURY

the dark gray stone skillfully carved in the round, the eyes cast down with gently bulging eyelids below angled ridges forming the eyebrows issuing from the peaked bridge of long the nose with slightly flared nostrils, the corners of the mouth lifted in a beatific expression, the flattened stylized hair left plain beneath a domed usnisha, flanked by large pendulous ears

Mathias Komor, New York, (no. Q916).
Purchased from the above on 4th May 1956.
Private Collection, New York.

There are four major areas on the face and hair where the surface is darker, has a different texture and shows some surface cracks. Visible in the catalogue illustration. There appears to be a vein or natural flaw in the stone running diagonally across the face from the right down across the left ear. The head as been attached to the marble base with a metal rod drilled into the underside of the neck.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The carving of this head is characteristic of the style of the Gongxian caves near Luoyang in Henan province, which were largely constructed during the reign of the late Northern Wei emperor Xiaoming (r. AD 516-28). The Gongxian caves are important examples of late Northern Wei Buddhist sculpture and reflect the final stage of the sinification of Buddhist art as developed under the Northern Wei dynasty. Faces of figures are characterized by a broad forehead, wedge-shaped nose with semi-circular eyebrows curving from the bridge, half-closed eyes and faint benign smiles, to form serene gentle expressions. Several Buddha figures with similar features can be seen at the entrance to Cave 1, included in Paula Swart, 'Imperial Cave-chapels of the Northern Wei Dynasty: the Buddhist Caves at Gongxian – an Interpretive Description', Orientations, October 1989, p. 57, fig. 3, and in niches of Cave 3, illustrated in Gongxian shikusi, Beijing, 1998, pl. 118.