A four-sided stone Buddhist stele, Northern Wei dynasty | 北魏　石雕四面龕像

Collection of Yamaguchi Kenshiro (1886-1957), Kobe.

Yamaguchi Kenshiro (1886–1957), son of the prominent businessman and art collector Yamaguchi Yoshirobei, was a leading industrialist and head of the Osaka‑based Yamaguchi business group, which centred on the former Yamaguchi Bank, a major Japanese bank that later became part of one of Japan’s largest banking groups, MUFG Bank Ltd.

During his lifetime, he assembled a large collection of artworks, with a particular focus on Chinese stone sculptures, and was already recognised internationally as a discerning collector. His deep knowledge of Chinese stone carving contributed to the formation of the Yamaguchi Collection, now housed at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts, which is generally regarded as one of the most important collections of Chinese stone sculpture in Japan, especially strong for the Northern Dynasties, with additional highlights from the Tang dynasty.

來源

山口謙四郎（1886-1957年）收藏，神戶