北魏 石灰石雕龍門式交腳菩薩坐像

the grey stone with traces of a white layer, deftly carved with a youthful bodhisattva seated with legs crossed at the ankles, head slightly tilted to his left, the left hand raised in abhayamudra and the right hand resting on his knee while grasping the hem of the robe cascading over his legs in pleated folds, parted at the ankles to reveal the bare feet symmetrically pointed down at an angle, the slender elongated torso with tapered waist left bare save for a low-relief torque and a thin shawl draped across the shoulders with ends intersecting at the waist, the benevolent face detailed with bow-shaped eyes below arched brows issuing from the curve of the broad nose, all above well-defined lips drawn in a beatific smile, further framed by pendulous earlobes and a tall flaring crown, wood stand

購於五十至六十年代

This is a wall relief fragment truncated at the rear and expected fragmentary condition as visible on the photo. The figure has been broken and reglued in two places, horizontally across the belly and probably diagonally from the left side of his neck to his right waist (old restorations). There are traces of an old glue under the right arm and above the right hand which may indicate that the forearm section was still extent at some stage and now missing or that an old substitute replacement has now been removed. There is a 6 x 3 cm section of the pleated robe on the lower left that has flaked off as well and been reglued. The figure is otherwise in condition consistent with age with no apparent further recent damages or breaks. The old wood stand is in good condition.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

此尊菩薩坐像，雕刻風格近於河南省洛陽南部之龍門石窟。佛面專注而祥和慈悲，令觀者心生景仰，並感應其平和寧靜之意境。身形優雅纖秀，呈現女性溫柔流雅之態。造像尺寸小緻，原應作於石窟佛龕內，置於大型造像之間。一件類同小型作例，藏於佛羅里達洲西棕櫚灘諾頓美術館，並刊錄於同館出版之《A Handbook of the Chinese Collection》，棕櫚灘，1972年，圖版103。

可比較的博物館及私人收藏龍門石窟交腳式菩薩像。參考二例，錄於 Osvald Sirén，《Chinese Sculptures in the von der Heydt Collection》，蘇黎世，1959年，圖版11-2，藏於蘇黎世雷特博爾格博物館。另一例展於《Ancient Chinese Sculpture》，Eskenazi，倫敦，1978年，編號8。另一例藏於紐約大都會美術館，載於 Alan Priest，《Chinese Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art》，紐約，1944年，圖版 XXII。還有一交腳思維菩薩例，現藏龍門博物館，載於博物館圖錄《龍門博物館》，鄭州，2005年，編號5。

另一尊龍門石灰石雕菩薩像，現藏三藩市亞洲藝術博物館，刊錄於 Rene-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argence 編，《Chinese, Korean and Japanese Sculpture in the Avery Brundage Collection》，東京，1974年，圖版35，同錄另外二例，圖版37、38，前者作思維式。可參考龍門原址現存二例，載於《中國美術全集》，卷11，上海，1988年，圖版52-53。還有一例，存於大阪市立美術館，錄於《龍門流散雕像集》，上海，1993年，圖版9。