China, early 8th century. The slender, elegant figure well carved standing in a subtle tribhanga pose, wearing a clinging diaphanous skirt falling in graceful folds, with scarves tied diagonally around the torso and draped from the shoulders, richly adorned with elaborate jewelry including beaded and foliate necklaces as well as pendent ornaments of beaded and floral designs. The gray limestone with a magnificent, naturally grown, smooth patina.

Provenance: French trade, acquired from a French private collection built between ca. 1980 and 2012.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, losses, small nicks, light scratches, a minor surface crack with associated old fill (only visible under strong blue light), signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations.

Weight: 29 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 60 cm (excl. stand) and 64 cm (incl. stand)

Mounted on an associated stand. (2)

Expert's note (added 20.2.2023): Compare with two Tang Dynasty bodhisattvas standing in contrapposto currently in the Zhengzhou Museum and published in Annette Juliano's Treasures of Ancient China in 1981 (see image section). These figures were unearthed at the site of the Dahai Monastery in Xingyang County, Henan Province. Notice the similar folds to the robes, the simplified jewelry over the outlined pectorals, and the slightly forward abdominal bulge. It is possible that the current lot is from the same period and region.

The 5th-century Gupta influence on Tang Buddhist sculpture is manifest in the sensuously rounded body of the present lot, together with the diaphanous robes and jewelry.

Literature comparison:
This statue is related to some of the larger figures from Longmen, such as the standing bodhisattva in a similar pose, with U-shaped drapery folds and roll of material at the waist, illustrated in Longmen Liusan Diaoxiang Ji (The Lost Statues of the Longmen Caves), Shanghai, 1993, p. 71, no. 78. Compare with a similar stone figure of a bodhisattva illustrated by O. Siren, Kinas Kunst Under Tre Artusenden, vol. 2, Stockholm, 1943, fig. 73A. Compare also a related sandstone figure from Tianlongshan, Shanxi Province, 101.6 cm high, dated approx. 700-750, in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, object number B60S6+. For a related figure in white marble with more elaborate realization of the drapery and with one foot placed slightly forward, see the figure from Longyenshan, Hebei, illustrated by W. Willetts, Foundations of Chinese Art, London, 1965, p. 222, fig. 139.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 22 March 1999, lot 162
Price: USD 134,500 or approx. EUR 218,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare well-carved gray stone torso of a bodhisattva, Tang dynasty, early 8^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related pose, drapery, and folds. Note the similar size (63.5 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 22 March 1999, lot 161
Price: USD 36,800 or approx. EUR 59,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare dark gray stone torso of a bodhisattva, Tang dynasty, circa 700, from the Longmen caves
Expert remark: Compare the closely related pose and color of the stone. Note the similar size (54.6 cm).



唐代石灰石立姿菩薩殘軀
中國，八世紀初。優雅身姿，三曲式，外衣輕薄而貼身，飾有精美的珠寶，如串珠和葉狀項鍊以及花卉紋的吊飾。順著身體結構起伏，雙腿輪廓隱約可見，褶皺線條流暢。灰色石灰石，自然包漿光滑。

來源：法國古玩交易，來自一個建立於1980-2012年之間的法國私人收藏。
品相：品相良好，大面積磨損、缺損、小劃痕、輕微的表面裂紋和相關的填充物（僅在強藍光下可見）、風化和侵蝕、結殼。

重量：29 公斤 (含底座)
尺寸：高 60 厘米 (不含底座) ，64 厘米 (含底座)

配置支架。(2)

五世紀古普塔對唐朝佛教雕塑的影響體現在本拍品圓潤的身體，以及透明的長袍和珠寶上。

文獻比較：
This statue is 一件相近的龍門石窟立姿菩薩像，有相似的姿勢，長袍衣服U 形褶皺和腰帶，見《龍門流散雕像集》，上海，1993年，頁71，編號78。比較一件相似的菩薩石像，見《O. Siren，Kinas Kunst Under Tre Artusenden》，卷2，斯德哥爾摩，1943年，圖73A。比較一件相近的約700-750年山西天龍山砂岩石像，101.6 厘米高，收藏於舊金山亞洲藝術博物館，館藏編號B60S6+。一件相近的河北白大理石像 ，見W. Willetts，《Foundations of Chinese Art》，倫敦，1965年，頁222，圖139。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，1999年3月22日，lot 162
價格：USD 134,500（相當於今日EUR 218,000）
描述：八世紀初期唐代灰岩菩薩殘軀
專家評論：比較非常相近的姿勢、布料和衣摺。請注意相似的尺寸(63.5 厘米)。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，1999年3月22日，lot 161
價格：USD 36,800（相當於今日EUR 59,500）
描述：約公元700年唐代龍門石窟黑灰岩菩薩立像
專家評論：比較非常相近的姿勢和石色。請注意相似的尺寸(54.6 厘米)。