15th Century & Earlier Stone Buddha Head Chinese Qi Dynasty on Custom Stand

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Description

Carved out of a single block of grayish brown stone (likely granite type), this Buddha head represents Northern Qi style … Read more Carved out of a single block of grayish brown stone (likely granite type), this Buddha head represents Northern Qi style in China (550-577AD) and likely of the period. The Northern Qi style is a unique period for Chinese Buddhism iconography when the northern part of the country was influenced by that from the Central Asia region such as Gandhara style. This cross-pollination was facilitated through the travels along the network of the silk roads where not only commerce but also religion, art, and ideas were widely exchanged. The Northern Qi dynasty was descended from Eastern Wei Dynasty, founded by XianBei, a nomadic people from Eurasian Steppes The Buddhism imagery is characterized by a distinctive oval shape of the head and face with a slightly extruded but otherwise smooth ushnisha (hair knot on top of the Buddha's head), a soft and serene facial expression with subtle fleshy cheeks, and elegantly arched eyebrows and narrow and elongated eyelids.
This stone shows some mineral striations in slightly darker tone embedded in the texture, adding a naturally weathered appeal to the piece. It is a fragment from the once larger statue (likely whole body). It is heavy and now displayed on a custom steel and wood stand (fixed).
Head only is approximately 7 inches in height. See less