唐咸亨（公元670-674年） 石灰岩雕四面造像碑唐咸亨（公元670-674年） 石灰岩雕四面造像碑26 1⁄4 in. (66.8 cm.) high, wood stand, Japanese wood boxDetails A RARE FOUR-SIDED STONE BUDDHIST STELETANG DYNASTY, XIANHENG REIGN (AD 670-674)One side is carved with Buddha Shakyamuni seated on a lotus throne within a niche, with his right hand raised in abhaya mudra and his head backed by a nimbus. He is flanked by his two disciples, Ananda and Kashyapa, as well as a pair of bodhisattvas and dvarapalas. Below the Buddha crouches a dwarf and a pair of lions, and below that there is a band of seated Buddhas. Set above the lintel of the niche is a stupa with a reliquary vase at center flanked by a pair of apsaras flying with streaming ribbons. The reverse is carved with Maitreya Buddha at the centre, his feet resting on diminutive lotus blossoms, flanked by devotees and bodhisattvas, with lions below, all set within a niche below the canopy of a large Bodhi Tree. The narrow sides are carved with seated Buddhas within niches. All four sides are carved with inscriptions, including parts of the Heart Sutra, names of donors and a portion of a date possibly corresponding to the Xianheng reign (AD 670-674) of the Gaozong Emperor of the Tang dynasty.26 1⁄4 in. (66.8 cm.) high, wood stand, Japanese wood box Provenance Fujita Museum, Osaka, acquired prior to 1940 Sold at Christie's New York, Important Chinese Art from the Fujita Museum, 15 March 2017, lot 530 Literature Masterpieces in The Fujita Museum of Art, Fujita Museum, Tokyo, 1972, nos. 209-212 Chinese Buddhist Stone Sculpture: Veneration of the Sublime, Osaka Municipal Museum, 1995, p. 124, no. 146 Sun Di, Zhonguo liu shi hai fo jiao xiang zong he tu mu (Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Buddhist Statues in Overseas Collections), vol. 6, Beijing, 2005, no. 1200 Exhibited Osaka, Fujita Museum, Chinese Painting and Scholars Objects Exhibition, Spring, 1983 Osaka Municipal Museum, Chinese Buddhist Stone Sculpture: Veneration of the Sublime, 1995, 10th October- 26th November 1995