A RARE SANDSTONE STELE OF SEATED BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI China, Tang dynasty, dated by inscription to 713 AD H. 54 cm Seated on a round lotus pedestal partially draped with his robes, with his hands in the bhumisparsa mudra, the round and soft face with a serence expression, the eyebrows with a pronounced arch. The figure is backed by a flaming mandorla, the reverse with a lengthy inscription, reading in part: "... on the 23rd day of the ninth month in the second year [...] Tian (713 AD), the year of guichou, the Buddhist discipline Chen Renfeng, his wife Li, his daughters and son reverently dedicated the statue of Shakyamuni ...". From a South German private collection, acquired iDecember 17th, 1985 at Trocadéro, Kenny & Higgins Asian Art, Inc., Washington D.C. Published in Higgins, Katy & Kenny, David: Chinese Stone Sculpture, Washington D.C., 1984, cover and reverse, no. 16. Related examples: Chinese Buddhist Sculpture from the Wei through the Tang Dynasties, National Museum of History, Republic of China, plate 29; Sirén, Osvald: Chinese Sculptures, Rietberg Museum, Zurich, plate 40; Sickman and Soper: Art and Architecture in China, plate 55 B. Partly chipped, traces of gilding and polychrome painting, the tip of the mandorla repaired