AN IMPORTANT STONE VOTIVE STELE: THE 'GAO SHENPO YIZU ZAOXIANG' NORTHERN WEI DYNASTY, FIRST YEAR OF THE YONG'AN YEAR (528)

of rectangular form carved on four sides, the front with a recessed niche enclosing relief images of the seated Preaching Buddha flanked by two standing bodhisattvas, the treatment of the bodies highly stylized and the folds of the long robes cascading downwards in ripples, the niche incised with an elaborate arch flanked by roofed shrines housing figures and winged lions, with apsaras and heavenly bodies above, and in the center an incense burner surrounded by images of donors with their names carved beside them, the reverse carved with a recessed central niche enclosing Maitreya, set within two rows of shallow niches with smaller Buddhas, above incised donors' names and a long votive inscription, repeated on the left and right sides of the stele

Alphonse Kann Collection (as at 1914).
From the Estate of Dikran G. Kelekian, New York, sold Parke Bernet, New York, 16th - 17th December, 1953, lot 22.
From the Collection of Fred Olsen, Guildford, Connecticut, sold Parke Bernet, New York, 28th February, 1964, lot 422.
Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 8th November, 1980, lot 55. 
Private Japanese Collection.

Museum Cernuschi, Paris, 1913.

E. Chavannes, Six monuments de le sculpture chinoise,  Ars Asiatica II, 1914, pp. 8-12, pls. 8, 9.
D. C. Wong, Chinese Steles: Pre-Buddhist and Buddhist Use of a Symbolic Form, University of Hawaii Press, 2004, p. 117.
Luo Zhenyu, A Record of Chinese Treasures in Overseas, 1915, reprinted in Scholarly Works by Luo Zhenyu, Shanghai, 2010, p. 689.
Jin Shen, Dated Buddhist Sculptures in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Foreign Collections, 2007, Taiyuan, p. 52.
Sun Xiaogang, A Bodhisattva of Wisdom: Iconography Study, 2007, Lanzhou, p. 44, fig. 37.

There is a break to the lower left corner of the stele with losses along the break. The corner has been reattached with cement filler and supplementary stones. There are scattered cracks and small repairs visible, wear to the faces of the buddhas, nicks and chips along the edges, and surface abrasion consistent with age and wear.
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.

There are altogether forty-two donors' names and a long votive inscription. Although the inscription is fragmented, it can be translated as:

"Brilliant light and hidden luster, without models and images the truth cannot be shown…… Profound teaching and distant singing, without close attention to the scripture how can the meaning  be understood… Thus divine figuration becomes empty and altered, though the statues are good. … The sounds are heard from the past, the teachings of the deceased return to the present. Relying …… to seek the pure source, depending on The Three to surge across to the other shore to the [pure] land, maintaining the truth within, never to return to what they had before. Thus the four brothers and disciples of the Buddha – Gao Falong, Gao Shizhen, Gao Shibao and Gao Baosheng –knowing what it’s like to charge through fords, and plant trees against the underworld,  have respectfully created this stone [image].  In the first place it is for the benefit of His Majesty the Emperor, … [and reaching down seven generations] their grandparents, the parents who brought them into the world, the reason …may each and every living being be universally blessed with good fortune, may they all obtain supreme happiness. When Maitreya descends for rebirth, may they be the first to sing the recitations.

Completed on the fifteenth day of the eleventh month, of the cyclical year year wushen, the first year of the Yong’an era, of the Great Wei dynasty.

Gao Shenpo, Disciple of the Buddha, General of Pacification of Remote Regions, and formerly the former Governor of Haoshi Prefecture."

Buddhist stone stelae emerged as a new genre during the 5th century during the Northern Wei dynasty. If combined the traditional Chinese commemorative stele of the Han dynasty with new influences from Eurasia.  Like their Western counterparts, the Chinese stone votive stelae were also carved with images and words.

This stele was once part of the collection of Alphonse Kann (1870 – 1948). It was exhibited at the Buddhist art exhibition at the Museum Cernuschi, Paris, in 1913. The French Sinologists Tchou Kia-Kien and Edouard Chavanness both studied the piece, and commented on the significance of this stele, translating the inscription into French.  In 1915, the famous Chinese scholar Luo Zhenyu (1886-1940) mentioned this stele in his book Haiwai zhen ming lu (A Record of Precious Antiquities in Overseas Collections), where he lamented the outflow of important cultural relics from China.