A large limestone head of a Buddha. Northern Qi/early Sui dynasty, 6th century - image-1
A large limestone head of a Buddha. Northern Qi/early Sui dynasty, 6th century - image-2
A large limestone head of a Buddha. Northern Qi/early Sui dynasty, 6th century - image-3
A large limestone head of a Buddha. Northern Qi/early Sui dynasty, 6th century - image-4
A large limestone head of a Buddha. Northern Qi/early Sui dynasty, 6th century - image-1A large limestone head of a Buddha. Northern Qi/early Sui dynasty, 6th century - image-2A large limestone head of a Buddha. Northern Qi/early Sui dynasty, 6th century - image-3A large limestone head of a Buddha. Northern Qi/early Sui dynasty, 6th century - image-4

Lot 530 Dα

A large limestone head of a Buddha. Northern Qi/early Sui dynasty, 6th century

Auction 1044 - overview Cologne
05.12.2014, 14:00 - China - Paintings, Decorative Arts, Sculptures -, Tibet/Nepal, India, South East Asia
Estimate: 15.000 € - 18.000 €
Result: 42.160 € (incl. premium)
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A large limestone head of a Buddha. Northern Qi/early Sui dynasty, 6th century

A large limestone head of a Buddha, the soft round face with a serene expression with eyes half closed under arched brows, with a small nose above pressed lips and a double chin, the elongated ears realistically carved, the hair and ushnisha smooth and without curls. Nose retouched. Northern Qi/early Sui dynasty, 6th century. Drill-hole at the base.
Height 31 cm

The head belonged to a monumental statue of either a seated or a standing Buddha from a cave temple. Despite its size, the few facial features are executed with great care and delicacy, the engraved contours of the eyes show a subtle curvature, while the carving of the ears combines realism with elegance.
The head possibly comes from the Xiangtangshan area of Southern Hebei/Shanxi province. Compare a head in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (D. Patry Leidy and D. Strahan, Wisdom embodied, New Haven/London 2010, plate 10d).

北齊/隋初 石灰岩佛頭
相關藝術風格介紹可參閱倫敦 2010年版 纽约的大都會藝術博物館 (Metropolitan Museum of Art New York), D. Patry Leidy 與 D. Strahan 著, Wisdom embodied, 圖 10d。來源：瑞士電影導演Bernhard Wicki 收藏

Provenance

Bernhard Wicki (1919-2000), Munich. The famous film director had this head mounted on the wall of his study.