A grey limestone Buddhist steleNorthern Qi DynastyExquisitely carved with a standing figure of Buddha flanked on his left by a Bodhisattva, the Buddha clad in plain flowing robes falling in neat pleats, the face with serene expression beneath tightly rolled curls on his head, all before a halo of lotus petals, the bodhisattva draped in layered diaphanous robes tied into knots in the centre, adorned with elaborate necklaces and crown, standing on a lotus pedestal issuing from the mouth of a lomng sinuous dragon, stand. 29cm (11 3/8in) high. (2).注脚北齊 背屏式佛與脅侍菩薩立像Provenance: Ben Janssens Oriental Art Ltd., London, 20 February 2006John J. Studzinski, CBE 來源：英國倫敦古董商，Ben Janssens Oriental Art Ltd.，2006年2月20日大英帝國司令勳章受勳者John J. Studzinski珍藏The Buddha and bodhisattva on the present lot are similar to a number of sculptures discovered at Qingzhou, Shandong Province in 1996. The sculptures in this group range in date from the Northern Wei to the Northern Song dynasty. In the present lot, the realistic portrayal of the figures, as well as the simplicity of the Buddha's attire, his slightly rounded face and his hair style of tightly rolled curls all refer to a Northern Qi dynasty date. See L.Nickel, The Return of the Buddha: Buddhist Sculptures of the 6th Century from Qingzhou, China, Zurich, 2002, nos.21, 22 and 25; another similar but larger, triad, Northern Qi, is in the Aurora Foundation Collection, Taiwan; see Chen Hui-hsia and Lee Yu-Min, The Art of Contemplation: Religious Sculpture from Private Collections, Taipei, 1997, pp.92-93, no.21. A slightly earlier related stele is in the Musee Guimet in Paris, illustrated by W.Watson, The Arts of China to AD 900, London, 1995, p.144, no.235. The pointed base of the stele would have fitted into the central cavity of a separate lotus stand. Tetsuei Tsuda points out that the basic form of this type of two-part stone stele was developed from small votive bronzes that were popular as early as the 5th century, see L.Nickel, The Return of the Buddha: Buddhist Sculptures of the 6th Century from Qingzhou, China, Zurich, 2002, p.117. It is known from inscriptions that sculptures such as the present lot were commissioned both by individuals and by groups of Buddhist laymen, as well as by monks and nuns, and that they were donated for the accumulation of merit and good karma; see Ibid., p.121.Compare with a related small pale grey stone Buddhist stele fragment, Northern Qi dynasty, which was sold at Christie's New York, 13-14 September 2018, lot 1133.