Featured Chinese Buddha Limestone Votive Stele

I have acquired this highly detailed Chinese Buddha Limestone Votive Stele. It is a very heavy piece and looks to be quite old, but you know the score with Chinese Antiques. They are very good at reproducing things. I bought this because I fell in love with it and the quality and detail is very high. How do I tell the age of such a thing? I can post more photos but here are a few.

 

Lovely,and looks like it has some age. I see remnants of paint,can we see a pic of the back and the bottom?

 

Here is a pic of the back. The bottom is just plain.

Here is a picture of the reverse. The bottom is just plain.

 

Hi Miles,
Can you please take a close up picture of the back, bottom portion. Right by the pointed center portion down.

 

Welcome to the forum, Miles.
I love your stele, it is beautiful. The style is 5th-6th century, but like you I have been caught in a mental tug-of-war between real or repro. So I decided not to post until I knew more. Frankly I still don't, but I'll share my thoughts with you. I hope it will help in the discussion.

What concerns me most is the kind of wear of the pigments. It seems strange that no red pigment remains in between the folds of the Buddha's garment, but there is still red pigment on the outside of the fold, seen in this detail:


Another thing is the back, most Chinese sandstone Buddhas of the period have more religious carving or a continuation of the cosmic flames on the back.

On the other hand, while the irregular surface seems odd, it could be due to the extrusion of minerals salts through external factors, like being covered with (humid) soil over a long period of time. I'm sure there is a better term for this process, but you probably know what I mean. I have seen it before, but never on Chinese sandstone statues of the period. So I wonder if this is actually due to the conditions it has survived in for centuries, or if this can be faked.
I can't see the surface of the back very well, does it have the same extrusions? If it occurred through a natural process, it should.

Did you acquire it through a reputable source? And did it come with any provenance?

 

AbsoluteLay adore this, and even if it is fake, what a great repro item. What is the height and width? Can I please see the bottom of the base, a lot is revealed about the carving at this point. Like Any Jewelry, where did you acquire it?

 

I have something similar i inherited. Great Grandfather was a textile magnate in new York. Collected Asian art. Lost his business during the depression. Sold his home the Crowley castle in Greenwich CT. And spent his days painting. He sold pieces of his collection as needed. This is all that remains..it is crazy heave. The craftsmanship of the wood base is amazing. Not sure if it was dropped and broken or if it was carved from an odd shaped stone. Anyway. Where might I get it appraised? I

 

It is beautiful, MrCrowley. Welcome, btw.
I love the way the wooden base was adapted to the damage, it shows appreciation of a special item.

I live in the Netherlands, so I can't help you with your querie, but maybe one of our US members has an idea where you can get it appraised.
I will tag one for you: @2manybooks .

 

I would not want to venture an opinion on the age or authenticity of either of the sculptures. You might try contacting the curatorial department of museums with strong Asian collections - as I don't know where you are located I can't provide more specific suggestions. But be prepared to send them as much information as you have about the history of the object (where and when you purchased/inherited it, what information came with it, etc.), detailed photographs, and to be patient while waiting for a response. It is possible that the Freer Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art, might have a better public mandate than the major private museums, but I am not sure.
https://asia.si.edu/about/contact/

You may find that university museums might be more responsive as well, if they have relevant specialists.

For an appraiser, you would want to find one with significant experience with Chinese sculpture. There are 3 main organizations for appraisers, whose members agree to abide by professional standards of practice and ethics. Each has a website with a way to search for appraisers with relevant specialties in your area.
https://www.appraisers.org/find-an-appraiser

https://www.appraisersassociation.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=741&nodeID=1

https://www.isa-appraisers.org/

 

Welcome to Antiquers, @MrCrowley !