A Chinese Carved Marble Head of Buddha

Tang dynasty (618-907), marble skillfully carved with a rounded serene face having downcast eyes beneath gently arched brows, softly modeled cheeks and small pursed lips, elongated ears frame the face, the hair is arranged in finely incised striated locks rising to a prominent ushnisha knot at top, the reverse with a small aperture suggesting attachment to a larger sculptural or architectural ensemble, presented on pole above a wooden display mount.

11 1/2 x 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 in.

From the Collection of Adrienne and John C. Maxwell, Jr. John C. Maxwell Jr. assembled one of the most distinguished private collections of Asian art in the American South, with a particular focus on Chinese, Korean, and Japanese works spanning antiquity through the late imperial period. A financier and respected market analyst by profession, Maxwell developed his interest in Asian art during his military service in Korea in the early 1950s. What began as personal study evolved into a lifelong commitment to collecting, scholarship, and connoisseurship.

The collection formed by Maxwell and his wife Adrienne reflects Maxwell’s highly analytical eye and preference for works possessing strong historical character, refined craftsmanship, and clear cultural significance. Numerous objects from the collection together with their private library of 1,200 scholarly Asian art journals and books were gifted to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, where they became part of the museum’s Maxwell East Asian Collection.

Weisbrod Chinese Art Ltd., New York
Purchased from the above before 1997.

For a similar marble carving, see Christie's, New York, Lot 715, September 24, 2021.

Depression in stone to back of head, likely from original display; loss to hair at right side; scattered nicks and stable cracks; surface with weathering commensurate with age.

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