A LARGE AND HIGHLY IMPORTANT WHITE MARBLE TORSO OF BUDDHA, NOTHERN QI DYNASTY China, 6^th century. Depicting a standing Buddha, dressed in loose robes draped over both shoulders and elegantly falling in stepped folds flaring at the hems in stylized pleats, the robe open at the chest to reveal the tied underskirt. The overall simple and naturalistic style clearly dates it to the later sixth century. Clinging tightly, the diaphanous drapery reveals the elegant body's form, characteristically indicated by incised lines and relief ridges.

Provenance: Old Italian private collection, acquired 1971 from Wing Tat Hong Gallery, Hong Kong. Collection of Leonardo Vigorelli, Bergamo, acquired from the above. Leonardo Vigorelli is a retired Italian art dealer and noted collector, specializing in African and ancient Hindu-Buddhist art. After studying anthropology and decades of travel as well as extensive field research in India, the Himalayan region, Southeast Asia, and Africa, he founded the Dalton Somaré art gallery in Milan, Italy, which today is being run by his two sons.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations, losses, nicks and surface scratches, minor cracks. Remnants of ancient pigment. Displaying supremely.

Dimensions: Height 92 cm (excl. base) and 101.5 cm (incl. base)

Mounted to a modern metal base. (2)

Expert's note: This magnificent sculpture embodies a profound spirituality achieved through the remarkable plasticity of drapery and form. The figure represents a standing Buddha and the monk's robes, which he wears, are arrayed to cover both shoulders. The size, sensitivity of carving, crisp treatment of the gracefully draped folds, both those falling in parallel curved lines down the front of the subtly indicated body and those of the hem, closely relate this figure to other imposing white marble statues of a similar date.

Only occasionally encountered among Chinese Buddhist sculptures, white marble first rose to popularity during the Northern Qi period, when sculptors occasionally carved Buddhist images in beautiful white marble from Dingzhou, in southwest Hebei province. Although a quarry site can never be taken as the probable site at which a particular image was sculpted, the use of white marble nevertheless suggests that this extraordinary sculpture might have been carved in the vicinity of Dingzhou, likely in Hebei or Shanxi province.

Faint traces of polychromy, evident on the shoulders, suggest that the sculpture was once entirely painted, as were virtually all early Indian and Chinese Buddhist sculptures in wood and stone. The brilliant pigments of the sculptures and wall paintings at Dunhuang, in Gansu province, suggest that the original colors of this Buddha would have been stunning.

If the missing right arm was raised in the abhayamudra, then the left might have shown a variation of the varadamudra, the gift-giving gesture, also associated with preaching. Moreover, if the right arm displayed the abhayamudra then the present sculpture likely represented either the Historical Buddha Shakyamuni or Amitabha, the Buddha of Boundless Light, in a preaching mode. Because the sculpture lacks an identifying inscription, not to mention its right arm and any distinguishing iconographic attributes, the exact identity of this Buddha likely will remain an enigma.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related figure of Amitabha Buddha in the Royal Ontario Museum, illustrated in Homage to Heaven, Homage to Earth, 1992, p. 163, pl. 92. Compare a related figure illustrated in Chinese Marble Sculptures of the Transition Period, B.M.F.E.A., no. 12, Stockholm, 1940, pl. II (b). Compare a related sculpture in the Eskenazi exhibition Sculpture and ornament in early Chinese art, London, 11 June to 13 July 1996, no. 31.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie's London, 12 May 2004, lot 203
Price: EUR 101,575 or approx. EUR 143,500 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Chinese stone torso of Buddha, Northern Qi dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related pose and manner of carving with similar diagonal pleats. Note the size (148 cm).


北齊大型漢白玉立佛殘件
中國，六世紀。立佛左右臂貼身，從肘部起殘缺，低開領的通肩袈裟，袈裟顯得輕薄而貼身，順著身體結構起伏，雙腿輪廓隱約可見。

來源：義大利私人舊藏，1971年購於香港Wing Tat Hong 藝廊；貝加莫Leonardo Vigorelli收藏，購於上述收藏。Leonardo Vigorelli Leonardo Vigorelli是一位退休的義大利藝術品經銷商和著名收藏家，專門研究非洲和古代印度教佛教藝術。在學習人類學和數十年的旅行以及在印度、喜馬拉雅地區、東南亞和非洲的廣泛實地研究之後，他在義大利米蘭創立了 Dalton Somaré 藝術畫廊，如今由他的兩個兒子經營。
品相：狀況良好，與年齡相稱。大面積磨損、風化和侵蝕跡象、結殼、缺損、刻痕和表面劃痕、輕微裂縫。顏料殘餘。

尺寸：高92 厘米 (不含底座)，總101.5 厘米

現代金屬底座。

低開領的通肩袈裟，此尊像背面袈裟表面以彩繪方式，繪出袈裟的框格裝飾，表現福田相。遒勁流暢的陰刻衣紋，這種「薄衣貼體」的造像風格，是北齊時期造像的一大特色。造像肩上明顯的多色痕跡表明該雕塑曾經完全上色，幾乎所有早期的印度和中國佛教木石造像都是如此。甘肅敦煌的雕塑和壁畫色彩絢麗。漢白玉在中國佛教雕塑中并不常見，在北齊時期開始流行，當時河北省西南部定州的偶爾使用漢白玉製作佛像。漢白玉造像可能是在定州附近雕刻的，可能在河北或山西省。
文獻比較：
比較一件相近阿彌陀佛像，收藏於Royal Ontario博物館，見《Homage to Heaven，Homage to Earth》，1992年，頁163，編號92。比較一件相近的雕像《Chinese Marble Sculptures of the Transition Period》，B.M.F.E.A.，編號12，斯德哥爾摩，1940年，編號II (b)。比較一件相近雕像，展覽於Eskenazi，《Sculpture and ornament in early Chinese art》，倫敦，1996年6月11日至7月13日，編號31。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：非常相近
拍賣：倫敦佳士得，2004年5月12日，lot 203
價格：EUR 101,575（相當於今日EUR 143,500）
描述：北齊立佛石雕殘件
專家評論：比較非常相近的姿勢、衣袍的類似於對角線的摺痕。請注意尺寸(148 厘米)。