A CHINESE LIMESTONE CARVING OF A MAITREYA BUDDHA. Northern Wei Dynasty, 4th/5th Century, or later.With downcast eyes and a serene smile on an oval face framed by elongated earlobes, his hair parted to the centre, covered by a tall headdress, the right hand raised, with shallow folds of the robe carved to the arms, raised on a modern stand, 20cm H. (2)北魏 四 / 五世紀或更晚 石灰石雕彌勒佛像連座Provenance: an English private collection.For related sculpture fragments with a see Dr. Saburo Matsubara, Chinese Buddhist Sculpture, 1996, p 140, fig A, also see Sotheby's New York, 17th September 2013, lot 55 for a similar sculpture fragment from Northern Qi Dynasty.