A LARGE CHINESE STONE STELE Northern Wei Dynasty, dated to 502 Carved in high relief with a Buddha standing atop a lotus base, the right hand raised in abhaya mudra and the left in varada mudra, the head framed by a circular halo decorated with multiple whorls, flanked by a pair of attendant Bodhisattvas, the stele of pointed arch form decorated with scrolling leafy stems issuing a stylised lotus flower within a border of flames, all atop a two-legged base, inscribed and dated to the fourth month of the third jingming year to the reverse, 76cm high Provenance: Previously in the collection of the late Raymond G. Handley, Los Altos, CA; purchased from Nancy Bulter in Atherton, CA, inherited from her parents pre-1980s. 北 魏 502年 石雕觀音三尊像 來源： Raymond G. Handley 舊藏，加利福尼亞州洛思阿圖斯; 購自 Nancy Bulter， 加利福尼亞州阿瑟頓。 Note: State-sponsorship of Buddhism during the Northern Wei dynasty enabled the rapid spread of the religion, with stone steles being an important sculptural medium during this period. These steles, commissioned by pious individuals, were erected in temple courtyards and other public spaces in an effort to gain spiritual favour for themselves and their ancestors. This stele in particular was commissioned to commemorate the creation of a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, gifted to the Jingyan Temple in the Yanfeng Mountain by a monk called Yan Song, whose father’s health was deteriorating at the time. The stele is dated to the fourth month of the third jingming year, corresponding to 502 AD. 款式: 大魏景明三季四月朔 八月雁峯山靜岩寺弟 子岩松為父日疾愈敬 造青花石釋迦牟尼像 區供養大雄寶殿又建 □前院香亭一座合刊 無價寶香