RARE STATUETTE DE BODHISTTAVA EN PIERRE SCULPTÉEDynastie des Zhou du Nord/dynastie Sui (557-581/589-618) AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE STONE FIGURE OF A BODHISATTVA Northern Zhou/Sui Dynasty (557-581 AD/589-618 AD) The deity, probably representing Avalokiteshvara, standing with its body naturalistically slightly swayed to the front and right, holding a vase in its left hand containing the nectar of Immortality, wearing flowing robes naturalistically draped in folds around its shoulders and arms, folded over its waist and reaching its bare feet, adorned with beaded bejewelled and tasselled necklaces with a central lotus pendant, the right arm raised, the serene face gazing forward with well detailed features flanked by pendulous ears with adorned with earrings, below the high beaded and bejewelled tiara with ribbons set around the coiffure, the back displaying the robe with its folds and overlapping pleats, tied below the neck and folded over the waist, with a bracket section on the back of the head, with red, green and black pigments and gilding, supported on an inverted circular base, stand. 54.3cm (21 1/2in) high. (2). Provenance: Robert Rousset, Paris (1901-1981), according to a family note, acquired from Tchou Teh Hoo, Beijing, 10 January 1925 Jean-Pierre Rousset, Paris (1936-2021) Characterised by regal countenance and adornment, the present figure bridges the aesthetic style of the Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties. The Sui dynasty utilised the patronism of Buddhism to unify China in 589, with craftsmen merging the artistic achievements of the preceding quarter century of the Northern Qi and Northern Zhou styles. See a stone figure of Guanyin, Northern Zhou dynasty (550-581), with similar proportions of large head atop narrow shoulders, illustrated by O.Siren, Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth to the Fourteenth Century , vol.I, Bangkok, 1998, pl.266A (reprinted from the Ernest Benn 1925 edition). Sculptures from this period are rare and the closest example to the present lot may be a pair of standing bodhisattvas, Northern Zhou dynasty, discovered in 1992 in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, illustrated in China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 AD , New York, 2004, no.170. The present exceptional figure with its opulent decoration and rich jewels was thus clearly influenced by the Northern Zhou style. The bodhisattva most likely represents Avalokiteshvara, known as Guanyin in China. Characteristically, the deity carries in her left hand a vase, a 'pure water bottle', one of the eight symbols of good fortune. The vase was believed to contain pure water capable of relieving suffering. The right hand probably once held a willow branch used to sprinkle the divine water. pare with a related stone figure of Guanyin similarly holding a bottle vase and draped with long necklace, Sui dynasty, and another related stone figure of Guanyin, Sui dynasty, illustrated by O.Siren, ibid ., pls.311 and 316. See also two lime