PROPERTY FROM VARIOUS OWNERS A WHITE MARBLE PANEL OF BUDDHIST TRIADLiao dynasty, 10th-11th century Carved in high relief, the Buddha Amitabha with calm, benevolent expression wearing a loose robe, seated in padmasana (lotus posture) on a cushioned seat with voluminous drapery and fringes, his right hand raised and left hand on his lap, the pedestal throne with lotus foot on a raised platform, flanked by two bodhisattvas standing on lotus plinths carved in a reduced scale, each wearing a long robe with flowing sash, the Avalokiteshvara clasping his hands at waist, identified by the small Buddha at the center of his elaborate headdress, the Mahasthamaprapta raising his hands in prayer, identified by the small vase at the center of his jeweled crown, the Buddha and bodhisattvas each with a gently-curved, leaf-shaped flaming mandorla behind their heads, the Buddha with a round of halo close to his head, a pair of apsaras riding on clouds above, holding one sprouting plant and one lotus bud, the entire scene supported by scrolling clouds at base and underneath, the sides and back of the panel left unfinished, the stone slightly weathered with earthy patina. 24in (61cm) high; 23in (58.5cm) wide; 9in (22.9cm) deep 遼 白大理石佛三尊像 Provenance: The Lannan Foundation Sotheby's New York, 3 December 1986, lot 285 Sotheby's New York, 9 December 1987, lot 175A A Long Island Collection Christie's New York, 19 March 2008, lot 391 Published: Gillman, Derek, "General Munthe's Chinese Buddhist Sculpture: An Embarrassment of Riches?", SOAS Buddhist Forum , London, 1996, p. 116, Appendix 15 (not illustrated) 來源： Lannan基金會舊藏 紐約蘇富比，1986年12月3日，拍品編號285 紐約蘇富比，1987年12月9日，拍品編號175A 紐約長島私人藏 紐約佳士得，2008年3月19日，拍品編號391 出版： Gillman, Derek, "General Munthe's Chinese Buddhist Sculpture: An Embarrassment of Riches?", 《SOAS Buddhist Forum》, 倫敦, 1996, 頁116, 附錄第15號 (未附圖) The unfinished sides and the carved cloud base continuing underneath the panel suggest that the present example belonged to a larger frieze at a Buddhist pagoda or monastery. The style of carving and the course-grained white marble with a slight yellow tonepare closely to a group of much-discussed white marble sculptural panels from the vicinity of Baoding or Dingzhou in Hebei province. White marble sculptures attributed to the Dingzhou region have been identified in museum collections around the world, most famously General J.W.N. Munthe's collection which was formed in the 1920's in Beijing and now in the collection of the Vestlandske Kunstindustrimuseum (West Norway Museum of Applied Art) in Bergen, Norway. Other notable examples of Buddha and bodhisattvas are in the University of Pennsylvania Museum collection, acquired from C.T. Loo in 1915 and illustrated on the museum's , object number C98; and in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, donated by Avery Brundage, illustrated by Lefebvre d'Argence, Chinese, Korean and Japanese Scu