Tête de boddhistva

This rather monumental Head of a Bodhisattva is in white marble, a stone used by the sculptors of Hebei. The ornaments of the hair arrangement and loose locks identify this deity as a bodhisattva. There is an ūrṇā at the base of the forehead. Few bodhisattvas wear this sign of Buddhahood, although it is present in certain images of Maitreya (Mile) and Avalokiteshvara. Two small accidents on the nose and the lip have not spoilt the face’s expression of interiority, heightened by half-closed eyelids partially concealing the gaze. The extreme stylisation characteristic of the time allowed nevertheless for a slight plumpness, which would become a commonplace feature of Tang ware.