China, Sui Dynasty (581 - 618 AD)
Limestone, 10.5 in
 
Finely carved with a broad face, high cheekbones, and heavy-lidded almond-shaped eyes beneath deeply incised arched brows, the lips closed in a gentle archaic smile, having elongated ears, and the hair falling in three rounded folds across the forehead below an elaborate diadem.
 
Cf. Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art. London, 1 Nov. 2023. Auction catalogue. “A carved limestone head of a Bodhisattva.” Lot 116.
 
Small losses and professional restoration to part of the nose and forehead.