A rare carved limestone figure of a bodhisattvaNorthern Qi DynastyCrisply carved with a serene face, the eyes half open in contemplation, a scalloped hairline topped by a beaded headdress and secured by a band with a ring to either side, clad in a high dhoti knotted at the front and with bows at the shoulders, adorned with elaborate jewellery, stand. 71cm (28in) high. (2).注脚北齊 石雕菩薩立像Provenance: Jonathan Tucker Antonia Tozer Asian Art, London, 15 February 2003John J. Studzinski, CBE 來源：英國倫敦古董商，Jonathan Tucker Antonia Tozer Asian Art，2003年2月15日大英帝國司令勳章受勳者John J. Studzinski珍藏The present remarkable figure displays several stylistic features typical of the Northern Chinese sculptural tradition dating to the second half of the sixth century, where emphasis was placed towards the volume of the body, evident here in the stocky upper body and the convexity of the stomach, and the folds of the robe, gently cascading towards the bottom of the body. The Northern Qi dynasty (550-577) was one of the most vibrant periods in the history of Chinese art, especially in the context of Buddhist art, which experienced a glorious moment following the contamination of foreign ideas and styles.The two hems depicted above the ankles suggest that the figure is wearing a double garment. This feature does not appear to have a counterpart in India or Central Asia and was probably a Chinese innovation. See, a stone figure of a bodhisattva, Sui dynasty, in cave no.427 at Dunhuang, which displays a similar treatment of the hems as the present example; see I.Y.Klein-Bednay, Schmuck und Gewand Des Bodhisattva In Der Fruhchinesischen Plastik, Bonn, 1984, fig.97, p.93. The elaborate strings of jewels depicted on the chest, consisting of lengths of pearls separated by coral twigs, however, can be traced to the Central Asian and Indian ornaments worn by Indian noblemen and can be found on Gandharan sculptures. See K.Isao, The World of the Buddha. Ghandara Art, Tokyo, 1990, vol.2, p.177, fig.13. A very similar torso of a bodhisattva, mid to late 6th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is illustrated by D.P.Leidy and D.Strahan, Wisdom Embodied, Chinese Buddhist and Daoist Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2010, p.172, fig. A13. Another similar stone figure of a bodhisattva, Northern Qi, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, is illustrated by D.P.Leidy, 'Avalokiteshvara in Sixth-century China', in J.Baker ed., The Flowering of a Foreign Faith: New Studies in Chinese Buddhist Art, Mumbai, 1998, figs.8 and 8a.