O5/003
BUDDHA`S HEAD
China,
probably Tang Dynasty (618 - 907)
Head of Buddha, marble, h. 35,5 cm.
The head was a part of a Buddhist statue in a rock temple (eg Longmen, etc.). The political and military situation of the Republic of China in the 1920s and 1930s led to the large-scale looting of rock temples and the sale of statues and their parts, especially heads, to Western collectors.
Old restoration of the tip of the nose..