Head

Finely carved head of a Buddha with traces of pigments. The face is smoothly carved with a meditative expression, the eyes cast down beneath arched eyebrows. A straight nose above curving lips and long, pendulous ears. The hair is carved with triple-spiralled curls.

The head bears stylistic features from a transitional period of Chinese Buddhist art at Longmen. South Asian features of the deity, such as the swirled strands of hair, the high-ridged nose and heavy eyelids still appear, yet the gently rounded face points to Tang-Chinese interests in the human form. Over the course of the period, artisans created Buddhist deities with increasing awareness of movements and soft flesh of the human body.