Collection of Alan and ☂Simone Hartman, New York, prior t🍌o 1974.

Collection of the Minnesota Museum of Art (now the Mi🍌nnesota Museum of American Art), acquired in Januar🥃y 1974.

Li Yin Oriental Art, Taipei, 1996.

Artist Magazine, Taipei, September 1997, p. 239.

Cao Qianli, Zhongguo gudai foxiang / Ancient Chinese Buddhist Sculptures, Hangzhou, 2004, p.76.

The Splendour of Buddhist Statuaries: Buddhist Stone Carvings in the Northern Dynasties, Museum of History, Taipei, 1997, cat. no. 054.

The large size of the present head is indicative of what once must have been a grand and imposing figure. Exceptionally carved with a rounded, full face accentuated with almond-shaped eyes and gently upturned lips, all below gracefully arched brows and an urna, the current head is a superb s🌺culptural example from the Northern Zhou to Sui dynasty that arguably bridges the aesthetics of the Northern Wei and Tang dynasties.

The Northern Zhou dynasty (🐼557-581) was founded by the Xianbei Yuwen clan and established its capital in Chang’an. After conquering the Northern Qi dynasty in 577, the Northern Zhou dynasty unified northern China but was overthrown in 581 by Yang Jian (Emperor Wen of Sui, r. 581-604) who founded the Sui dynasty (581–618 CE) and reunified China. Although the transitional period between Northern Zhou and Sui was short-lived, it marked a significant phase in the evolution of Buddhist art, particularly sculpture, bridging earlier styles and later developments with distinctive characteristics🧜.

Stylistic influences from the Gupta dynasty of India (c. 319-550) are evident in Northern Zhou dynasty Buddhist sculptures, such as the large proportions of the figures and even details such as the coiled ushnisha. It has been suggested by Chang Qing that Northern Zhou dynasty Buddhist sculptures are often characterised by a low ushnisha, rounded cheeks, and closely spaced facial features—all of which are evident in the present example. For more information, see Chang Qing, ‘The Model of Buddhist Art from Northern Zhou (557~581 CE) Chang'an Area and Its Transmission’, Journal of Art History Studies, no. 49, 2020, p. 18.

The ‘Five Buddhas of Northern Zhou’, each measuring approximately 2 metres in height, were unearthed in Wanzi village in Xi’an and are now preserved in the Beilin Museum, Xi’an. Dated to the second year of the Daxiang period (580), they serve as important references to the Northern Zhou sculptural characteristics. The facial structure, ushinisha and facial features of the current head are similar to one of the Five Buddhas of the Northern Zhou, illustrated in Buddhist Sculpture in the Xi'an Beilin Museum, pp. 88–89. See another similar Northern Zhou - Sui dynasty standing figure also in the Beilin Museum, Xi’an, illustrated ibid., pp. 104-105. See also a Sui dynasty Buddha head in the National Museum of China, Beijing, which bears many similarities with the current piece, including the urna between the brows.

A similar but smaller standing figure of Buddha is preserved in the Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, no. TC-20. Like the current piece, it bears a small square mortise hole at the back of the head, possibly for attachment to a𝓡 niche. It is dated to the Sui dynasty by the museum but the Northern Zhou – Sui dynasty in Japan’s National Institutes for Cultural Heritage database.

來源

哈特曼伉儷收藏，紐約，1974年或更早

明尼蘇達藝術博物館（現明尼蘇達美國藝術博物館）收藏，購於1974年1月

禮瀛東方藝術，台北，1996年

展覽

《佛雕之美：北朝佛教石雕藝術》，歷史博物館，台北，1997年，編號054

出版

《藝術家》，台北，1997年9月，頁239

草千里，《中國古代佛像》，杭州，2004年，頁76

此尊佛首為碩大圓雕，可知原像身量魁偉。佛面開臉飽滿，杏目微啓，彎眉長舒，眉間毫相，雙頰豐潤，閉唇含笑，法相端麗絕塵。頭頂螺🌜髮細密，肉髻低平，與寬碩耳垂相得益彰，尤顯佛陀福慧具足。綜觀此像，神韻敦厚渾樸，既改北魏「秀骨清像」之遺風，又開隋唐豐美氣質之先河，為北周至隋造像典範。

北周（557-581年）由鮮卑宇文氏建立，定都長安，577年滅北齊後統一北朝，581年被權臣楊堅（隋文帝，581-604年在位）推翻，而後隋朝（581-618年）建立，中國走向統一。北周至隋，光景匆匆，其間佛教藝術承上啟下，別有風貌。論形制，北周造像汲取印度笈多王朝（約3🍌19-550年）風格，多作圓雕，像體高大，佛首螺髮尤爲笈多藝術之典型。據常青研究，北周造像有肉髻低平、腮頰圓胖、五官集中等特徵，細看此尊，皆可對應，詳見〈北周長安佛教藝術模式及其源流〉，《美術史研究集刊》，第49期，2020年，頁18。

西安市灞橋區灣子村出土五尊立佛，均高約2米，因記大象二年（580年）乃知造於北周，世稱「北周五佛」，現藏西安碑林博物館，可作北周造像斷代標準。比五佛之一爲例，開臉、螺髮、五官均與此尊相類，錄《長安佛韻：西安碑林🌠佛教造像藝術》，頁88-89；再比館藏立像一尊，亦顯著相似，斷代北周ℱ至隋，同錄前述出處，頁104-105。另比一佛首像，除上述各處頗似，眉間毫相亦同，斷代為隋，藏中國國家博物館，北京。

海外館藏中亦可參考立佛一尊，尺寸較小，諸般皆似，佛首後枕處開一方形孔洞，或榫接原龕，與此尊雷同，藏東京國立博物館，東京，藏品編號TC-20；該𝓀館將其斷為隋代，而國立文化財機構藏品綜合檢索系統則載北周至隋。