Expert authentication: Dr. Chang Qing has authenticated this lot, identifying its iconographic and stylistic characteristics as typical of Northern Qi images found in Shandong province. A notarized copy of Dr. Chang’s expertise, dated April 15, 2021, in the State of New York, accompanies this lot.
Dr. Chang holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Kansas and has held prestigious positions, including post-doctoral fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and senior research fellow at the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institute. He has conducted extensive research in China, participating in archaeological excavations at various historical sites. Dr. Chang is the author of several influential works, including Compassionate Beings in Metal and Stone: Chinese Buddhist Sculptures from The Freer Gallery of Art (2016) and Light of the Buddha in the Desert: Essays on Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang from 5th-14th Centuries (2012). He is currently a professor at Arts College, Sichuan University.

China, c. 550-577. Exemplifying the classic, almost stoic elegance typical of Northern Qi sculpture, this piece is finely carved from exceptionally high-quality limestone with distinct natural veining and inclusions. The oval-shaped face exudes a gentle smiling, benevolent expression, with well-defined features such as heavy-lidded eyes, bow-shaped lips, and a prominent chin, all flanked by elongated earlobes. The head is surmounted by an ushnisha adorned with large, neatly incised whorl-like curls, further emphasizing the calm and dignified aura that is a hallmark of the period.

Expert’s note: The downward facial expression suggests that the Buddha was looking down on the Buddhist believers listening to his preachings, as Dr. Chang noted in his authentication letter. The stone is of a remarkable and almost unique texture, mostly found in Ganges basin, which covering parts of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and a small portion of China. It is centered around the Ganges River, one of the most significant and sacred rivers in the region.

Provenance: From a private collection in New York, United States.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Wear, obvious losses, structural fissures, encrustations, chips, and nicks. Ancient weathering, and traces of erosion.

Weight: 11.8 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 34.5 cm (incl. stand)

With a modern metal stand. (2)

The Northern Qi style is an indirect interpretation of the Indian Gupta style, particularly the Sarnath school, introduced to China via Central Asian trade routes. This adoption of foreign aesthetics reflects the socio-political shifts at the beginning of the Northern Qi period, when its rulers embraced non-Han stylistic traditions, in contrast to the Sinicization efforts of the Northern Wei rulers. Key characteristics of the Northern Qi style include the small mouth, thin nose, large, elongated ears with flat, unpierced lobes, and distinctive whorl-like curls.

Related sixth-century sculptures have been found in several hoards of Buddhist stone images discovered in Shandong province. The most well-documented is the cache from Longxing Temple in Qingzhou, where hundreds of Buddhist figures were ritually buried—possibly as an act of merit during the Northern Song dynasty—after suffering partial destruction in an earlier anti-Buddhist movement.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related limestone head of Buddha with similar expression in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, object Number: 2001.422.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s London, 11 May 2010, lot 183
Price: GBP 43,250 or approx. EUR 91,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A white marble head of Buddha, Northern Qi dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and manner of carving with similar facial features, whorl-like curls, and size (28 cm). Note the different material.