A RARE AND IMPORTANT LIMESTONE FIGURE OF A BODHISATTVA, LONGMEN GROTTOES, NORTHERN WEI DYNASTY China, 386-534. Finely carved standing on a circular lotus dais, the right hand held in front of the chest and the left lowered at his side, the head slightly tilted to his right. Wearing long flowing robes secured at the waist and billowing scarves falling loosely over the body. The face sensitively carved with a serene expression marked by heavy-lidded eyes, gently arched brows, and full lips, flanked by long pendulous earlobes. A simple tiara with a central flower separates the braids of hair pulled up in front of the head, and equally serves as the base for a hairdo that forms an almost crown-like design on top.

Provenance: A private collection in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, pre-1983. Anunt Hengtrakul, New York, USA, acquired from the above c. 1984. Michael B. Weisbrod, Inc., New York, USA, acquired from the above, c. 1992. The collection of J. Abraham Cohen, New York, USA, acquired from the above. Anunt Hengtrakul was a collector of fine Chinese works of art, active in the US and Canada during the 1980s and 1990s. In the early 2000s, he began to gift objects to museums, including the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, and the Middlebury College Museum of Art in Middlebury, Vermont. Michael B. Weisbrod is a noted scholar of Chinese art, who has published extensively on the subject over a time span of more than 50 years. In 1972, Michael joined his father Dr. Gerald Weisbrod's Asian art gallery in Toronto, Canada. The father-and-son team opened their New York location on Madison Avenue in 1977, and during the next 45 years the gallery held a significant number of exhibitions, selling to museums and private collectors across the globe, eventually adding further locations in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Published: Michael B. Weisbrod, Inc., Brochure, New York, 1992.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age, and presenting remarkably well. Extensive wear, minor losses and cracks, small nicks, light scratches, signs of weathering and erosion, some encrustations. Fine, naturally grown patina with a subtle luster overall, worn from centuries of exposure to the natural elements.

Weight: 5,796 g (excl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 53.5 cm (excl. stand) and 59 cm (incl. stand)

Sculptures of this type are known to be from the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan, China. They are all fragmentary, and of a dark and mottled color, alternating from gray to black, as seen on the back of the present statue where the raw stone becomes visible. Occasionally, a light brown color appears on the carved surface in the front. All figures were cut from the caves in a particular manner, leaving the present statue with a V-shaped cross-section.

Of all the caves in the Longmen Grottoes, those completed during the Northern Wei and Tang dynasties make up around 30 % and 60 %, respectively. Naturally, these two dynasties show widely different styles of carving. Those of the Northern Wei are vivacious, slim, and sensitively carved, while the Tang figures are more plump. The Wei figures are some of the finest examples of Chinese Buddhist art.

Literature comparison:
Several illustrated examples, found in different collections and museums around the world, have been published in The Lost Statues of Longmen Cave, Longmen Grottoes Research Institute, by C. K. Chan, Wen Yucheng, and Wang Zhenguo, numbers 6, 9, 11, and 22, all of which have characteristics similar to the present lot including the long upper torso, low waist, S-shaped folds on the robes or sleeves, and the shallow but confident carving of the details, as well as a similar patina and encrustation. Compare two closely related limestone figures of attendant bodhisattvas, dated to the Northern Wei dynasty, early 6^th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession numbers 48.176 and 48.182.4. Compare a related limestone figure of a seated Buddha, dated to the Northern Wei dynasty, in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, object number B60S40. Compare a related sandstone figure probably depicting Avalokiteshvara, dated Six Dynasties period, middle Northern Wei dynasty, about 470-480, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number 47.37. Compare two related limestone bodhisattvas, each 88.9 cm high, with similarly carved lotus daises, previously attributed to the Northern Wei dynasty but now thought to be from the Northern Qi dynasty, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, accession numbers A7-1913 and A.8-1913.



北魏罕見石灰石菩薩立像，龍門石窟
中國，386-534年。菩薩立於圓形蓮台上，右手抱於胸前，左低垂於身側，頭略偏右。表情平靜，雙眼低垂，豐滿的嘴唇，平靜恬雅；兩側是長長的下垂耳垂，髮髻華麗，頭戴花飾。本像身軀婀娜，線條柔雅，身體重心置於一側，腹腰豐滿細緻，衣袍纖薄貼身，隱露雙腿。

來源：1983年前美國俄亥俄克利夫蘭私人收藏；紐約Anunt Hengtrakul約在1984年購於上述收藏。紐約Michael B. Weisbrod藝廊1992年購於上述收藏； 紐約J. Abraham Cohen收藏，購於上述收藏。Anunt Hengtrakul 1980 年代和 1990 年代活躍於美國和加拿大的中國藝術品收藏家。 在 2000 年代初，他開始向博物館贈送物品，包括內布拉斯加州奧馬哈的喬斯林藝術博物館和佛蒙特州米德爾伯里學院藝術博物館。美國紐約Michael B. Weisbrod私人收藏。Michael B. Weisbrod是一位著名的中國藝術學者，他在 50 多年的時間裡就該主題發表了大量著作。1972 年，Michael加入了他父親 Gerald Weisbrod 博士在加拿大多倫多的亞洲藝術藝廊。這對父子團隊於 1977 年在麥迪遜大道開設了他們的紐約分館，在接下來的 45 年裡，藝廊舉辦了大量展覽，向全球的博物館和私人收藏家出售作品，最終還在上海和香港開辦分店。
出版：Michael B. Weisbrod，Inc.，《Brochure》，1992年，紐約。
品相：狀況極佳，大面積磨損、輕微缺損和裂縫、刻痕、小劃痕、風化和侵蝕跡象、一些結殼。細膩的包漿。

重量：5,796 g (不含底座)
尺寸：高53.5 厘米(不含底座) ，59 厘米(含底座)

這種類型的石雕造像風格來自中國河南洛陽的龍門石窟。石像表面顏色呈暗色和斑駁，從灰色到黑色交替變化，從現在的雕像背面可以看到原石。偶爾，正面的雕刻表面會出現淺棕色。在龍門石窟的全部洞窟中，北魏和唐代建成的洞窟分別佔30%和60%左右。自然，這兩個朝代表現出截然不同的雕刻風格。北魏人物活潑、苗條、雕琢細膩，而唐人人物則較為豐滿。

文獻比較：
在世界各地不同的收藏品和博物館中發現的幾個圖例，見龍門石窟研究所編，《龍門流散雕像集》中發表，編號6、9、11和22，它們都具有與現拍品相似的特徵，包括長上身、低腰、長袍或袖子上的S形褶皺，以及淺而自信的細節雕刻，還有類似的銅銹和包漿。比較兩件非常相近的六世紀初北魏時期石灰石菩薩像，收藏於大都會藝術博物館，收藏編號為48.176和48.182.4。比較一件相近的北魏時期石灰岩坐佛像，收藏於三藩市亞洲藝術博物館，文物編號B60S40。比較一件相近的約470-480年六朝時期北魏中期可能描繪觀音菩薩的砂岩造像，收藏於洛杉磯縣藝術博物館，收藏編號為47.37。比較兩尊相近的石灰岩菩薩，每尊高88.9釐米，雕刻有類似的蓮台，以前認為是北魏時期的，但現在被斷為是北齊時期的，收藏於維多利亞和亞伯特博物館，收藏編號為A7-1913和A.8-1913。 13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyers premium – only for buyers within the EU.