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6. A Monumental Buddha Head China Song Dynasty; 960-1279 AD sandstone H. 48 cm (19'') |
The confidence in working stone in the round which was achieved in the Tang dynasty was preserved in the following Song era from which this remarkably large head of the Buddha dates, bearing the powerful marks of its execution. The skill of the Song is seen here in the extraordinary simplification of the carving and the self-assured adoption of painterly techniques. The features of the face are rendered on a single, perfectly oval plane, almost as if they were painted: only the volume of the nose and the lower part of the mandorlas of the eyes restore sculptural values to a face otherwise exhibiting the characteristics of an impeccable drawing. The same sensibility lies behind the carved half-moon of the chin and the spiral stylized ear. The traditional iconographic signs of the Buddha here include the urna high on his forehead and the barely suggested usnisa. Added to these is the bald patch, like a diadem, at the centre of his head - a Chinese convention which became common from the X century. |