224. IMPORTANTE TÊTE D'UN BODHISATTVA EN GRÈS Dynastie Sui ou postérieur A LARGE LIMESTONE HEAD OF A BODHISATTVA Sui Dynasty or later The rounded face with with a meditative expression, with eyes half-closed below pronounced arched eyebrows, the aquiline nose above a small pursed and slightly smiling mouth, flanked by long pendulous earlobes, the hair combed and neatly arranged around the face, gathered in a high chignon fronted by an elaborate crown with florets and festoons, with traces of red, green, blue, black and gold pigments, Langweil label on the stone stand. 43cm (16 7/8in) high. (2). 隋或更晚 石灰岩雕菩薩首 Provenance: Collection of Florentine Langweil (1861-1958) Galerie Charpentier, Hotel Drouot, 4 June 1959, lot 346 Collection Albert Sze (1932-2008), Paris Nagel, Stuttgart, 7 May 2010, lot 35 來源： Florentine Langweil（1861-1958）珍藏 Galerie Charpentier，德魯奧拍賣行，1959年6月4日，編號346 巴黎Albert Sze（1932-2008）珍藏 納高拍賣行，斯圖加特，2010年5月7日，編號35 Carved in the style that indicates a late sixth century date, this head alludes to the sculptural style that evolved in the transitional period of Chinese Buddhist sculpture which is still steeped in its Indian origins but already shows the Chinese interest in the human form as expressed in the more naturalistic depiction of the physical features. The head with its heavy-set rounded face, fleshy cheeks, wide-set slanting eyes, arched brows and a large nose that leads to the plump lips reflect an awareness of the natural features that are successfully combined to achieve a sculpture that exudes a sense of spirituality. Excavations in Qingzhou, Shandong, have revealed examples of Northern Qi and Sui limestone sculpture with similarly sturdy and heavy-set features that may be stylistically related to this head of a bodhisattva with its similarly rounded, but rather angular face and short, rather stocky neck. Compare, for instance, the figure of a standing bodhisattva, with the same short, thick neck, and rounded face, dated to the Northern Qi dynasty, illustrated in Lukas Nickel, Return of the Buddha. The Qingzhou Discoveries, London, 2002, no.29. Compare also with a seated limestone figure of a bodhisattva from the Longxing Temple hoard, dated to the Northern Qi dynasty, illustrated ibid., p.156, fig.80. Another feature that points to a possible Sui date is the intricate diadem with its petaled lobes, tassels and cabochons that still bears traces of colourful pigments. Compare also with a sandstone figure of a bodhisattva dated to the Northern Qi dynasty, from the von der Heydt Collection and now in the Rietberg Museum, Zürich, pubished in Osvald Siren, Chinesische Skulpturen der Sammlung Eduard von der Heydt, Zürich, 1959, pp.94 and 95, no.27. Compare with the heads of several figures of bodhisattvas dated to the Sui dynasty (581-618), from Shanxi province, published in Osvad Siren, Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth to the Fourteenth Century, vol. II, London, 1925 (reprint 1998), pls. 303A, 303B, 316 and 329.