TRÈS RARE TÊTE DE BODHISATTVA EN PIERRE SCULPTÉE... Lot n° 236

VERY RARE CARVED STONE HEAD OF A BODHISATTVAE Northern Wei Dynasty (386-535) A VERY RARE STONE HEAD OF A BODHISATTVA Northern Wei Dynasty (386-535 AD) Characteristically carved with an elongated face flanked by pendulous ears adorned with boss-shaped earrings, the face with a serene expression with an angular nose above well-defined lips and below the arched eyebrows, the raised hair parted in the center below the high tiara on a rope-twist base tied with a tasselled ribbon on each side and adorned with a foliate scroll, traces of red pigment, stand. 28.6cm (11 1/2in) high (2). Footnotes: Provenance: Robert Rousset, Paris (1901-1981), acquired prior to 1935; the head is illustrated in a photograph taken at Robert Rousset's Paris apartment, circa 1950s Jean-Pierre Rousset, Paris (1936-2021) This graceful head of the bodhisattva displays particularly close similarities with figures of Maitreya and bodhisattvas from the Gongxian and Longmen caves complexes in Henan Province, both commissioned by the Northern Wei Imperial family. Northern Wei dynasty figures of this type were made to represent the ideal beauty of the time, with stylized facial features characterized by a pronounced narrow and elongated head, with small, neat linear facial features all frequently surmounted by a high crown, further emphasizing the linearity of the sculpture. The result is an ethereal quality, representing the purest form of the ideal of Buddhist spiritual enlightenment. Many of the comparable sculptures originate from the Longmen cave complex; compare with two seated figures of bodhisattvas, both from Longmen, illustrated by O.Siren, Chinese Sculptures in the von der Heydt Collection, Zurich, 1959, pls.11-12. See a related limestone relief fragmentary head of a bodhisattva, Northern Wei dynasty, which was sold at Sotheby's New York, 12 September 2018, lot 7. 北魏 石雕菩薩首 來源： 巴黎 Robert Rousset（1901-1981）舊藏，於1935年前入藏，首像見於 Robert Rousset 巴黎府邸一舊照中，攝於上世紀五十年代閒 巴黎 Jean-Pierre Rousset（1936-2021）舊藏 For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com