TRÈS RARE TÊTE DE BODHISATTVA EN PIERRELongmen, Dynastie des Wei du Nord (386-535 ap. J.-C) A VERY RARE STONE HEAD OF A BODHISATTVA Longmen, Northern Wei Dynasty (386-535 AD) Exquisitely carved with eyes downcast in a serene expression, with high arched brown and well defined facial features flanked by a pair of pendulous ears, below the incised hair, plaited and parted in the centre above the high forehead, adorned with a tall tiara set with a floral medallion flanked by palmettes and circular floriform motif, secured to the head by a twist rope tied with a ribbon, stand. 24.4cm (9 1/2in) high. (2). Provenance: Robert Rousset, Paris (1901-1981), acquired on 22 November 1940 Jean-Pierre Rousset, Paris (1936-2021) The distinctive features characterising the present sculpture, such as the long and narrow head, the arching brows, the broad nose and hair neatly arranged over the ushnisha , closely resemble examples of the Buddha Maitreya executed at Longmen, Henan Province, dating to the Northern Wei period. According to both Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism, Maitreya is regarded as the Buddha of the Future and believed to reside in Tushita Heaven, where devotees seek to be reborn after death. Longmen is a large Buddhist site consisting of hundreds of cave temples whose magnificence is largely attributed to the patronage of the site by the foreign Tuoba rulers of North China between 386 and 535 AD. During the Northern Wei dynasty, state-sponsor of Buddhism enabled the rapid spread of the religion throughout Northern China. The Northern Wei rulers were not originally Buddhist but were a nomadic people from the northwest (known as the Tuoba). They adopted Buddhism as a political unifying force. As one non-Han ruler in 335 said: 'we were born out of the marches and though We are unworthy, We haveplied with our appointed destiny to govern the Chinese as their Prince...Buddha being a barbarian god is the very one We should wor...', by 477, there were an estimated 6478 Buddhist temples in Northern China and over 70,000 monks and nuns; see A.Paluduan, Chinese Sculpture: A Great Tradition , Chicago, 1996, p.187. The Northern Wei rulers began to identify themselves as Buddha incarnate and dedicated caves and cliff shrines to Buddhism,missioning stone sculptures, such as the present lot, to adorn them. The Longmen grottoes which were first established by emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei dynasty, contain some of the finest examples of Chinese Buddhist art. At Longmen, the Northern Wei style reached its peak. This was due to the excellent quality of the stone, that nearby Luoyang was a centre of classical Chinese sculpture, and influences from the Southern dynasties developments in painting. Carved figures at Longmen are typically characterised by slender bodies with sloping shoulders and delicate features such as the curved 'butterfly' eyebrows. pare with a similar stone head from the Lo