NORTHERN WEI DYNASTY (AD 386-534)

The emphasis on frontality, symmetry and angular lines are characteristic of grey pottery figures of the Northern Wei period, as well as gilt-bronze Buddhist figures of early sixth-century date, such as the figure of Buddha illustrated by A. Juliano in Art of the Six Dynasties, China Institute in America, New York, 1975, no. 49, which, like the present figure, displays a gentle smile characteristic of Northern Wei figures.

The result of Oxford University Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art thermoluminescence test sample no. 566x96 is consistent with the dating of this lot.