China, 550-577. Finely carved, the serene face with heavy-lidded downcast eyes below gently arched eyebrows centered by a large and deeply recessed urna, above bow-shaped lips forming a gentle smile, framed by a square hairline and pendulous earlobes. The hair arranged in neatly incised snail-shell curls over the domed ushnisha.

Provenance: Alan Hartman, Rare Art, New York, by c. 1979/80. A private collection in Florida, United States, acquired from the above, and thence by descent. Michael B. Weisbrod, New York, acquired from the above. The back of the neck with an old label stamped with an inventory number, ‘390’. Alan Hartman (1930-2023) was an influential American art dealer, who took over his parents’ antique business in Manhattan and established the legendary Rare Art Gallery on Madison Avenue, with further locations in Dallas and Palm Beach. His wife Simone (née Horowitz) already served as assistant manager of the New York gallery before the couple married in 1975, and together they built a renowned collection for over half a century and became noted art patrons, enriching the collections of important museums including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (which opened the Alan and Simone Hartman Galleries in 2013) as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Brooklyn Museum in New York. Alan Hartman has been described as the greatest antiques dealer of our generation, and was widely recognized as a world authority in Chinese jade, bronzes, and Asian works of art. 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.
Condition: Good condition, extensive wear. Signs of weathering and erosion, obvious losses, nicks, scratches, water marks, natural fissures, a small chip to the lips, touchups to the eyelids, nose, and chin.

Weight: 36.6 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 36 cm (excl. stand), 62.5 cm (incl. stand)

Mounted on a modern stand. (2)

Buddha heads from the Northern Qi dynasty (550–577) are distinguished by their refined elegance, elongated proportions, softly rounded features, and composed expression. The influence of Gandharan and Central Asian styles is evident in the gentle modeling of the face and high, arched brows. The urna, sometimes deeply recessed and notably large—as seen in the present lot—is an homage to earlier Kushan-period heads, emphasizing spiritual presence. Carved from a massive block of black limestone, this head retains microscopic traces of pigment and gilding, hallmarks of the period. The 6th century saw a flourishing of Buddhist art, fueled by foreign influences and lavish patronage, leading to the creation of grand cave temples whose sculptures continue to captivate audiences to this day. The present head also reflects the Qi aristocracy’s admiration for the refined, exotic aesthetics of the contemporary Gupta style in India.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related limestone head of Buddha, dated 550 to 577, 44.5 cm high, in the Worcester Art Museum, object number 1914.24. Compare a closely related head of Buddha, with a similar large recess for the urna, dated to the Northern Qi dynasty, 90 cm high, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, accession number A.98-1927. For another example of a Northern Qi stone head with a large circular recess for the urna, see the head of a bodhisattva formerly in the Robert Rousset Collection and sold at Bonhams Paris, 25 October 2022, lot 32.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 20 March 2015, lot 756
Price: USD 389,000 or approx. EUR 497,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large grey limestone head of Buddha, China, Northern Qi-Sui dynasty (AD 550-618)
Expert remark: Compare the related square form of the face, the narrow almond-shaped eyes, the thin curved eyebrows, lined lips, the incised alar wing of the nose, the snail-shell curls, and the size (38.1 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 20 March 2015, lot 754
Price: USD 185,000 or approx. EUR 236,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large grey limestone head of Buddha, China, Northern Qi dynasty (AD 550-577)
Expert remark: Compare the related square form of the face, the narrow almond-shaped eyes, the thin curved eyebrows, lined lips, the incised alar wing of the nose, and the snail-shell curls. Note the size (43.8 cm).