Large Dry Lacquer Head of a Bodhisattva

Tang dynasty, 8th century

This magnificent and monumental dry lacquer head of a bodhisattva is a rare survival from the Tang dynasty. The hollow-core dry lacquer sculptural technique was used in China for a short period around the sixth to eighth centuries, mostly by specialised workshops to create specially commissioned sculptures for wealthy and elite patrons. The technique was labour-intensive and costly. A clay model was created of the sculpture, then textile strips were soaked in lacquer and built up in carefully dried layers over the sculpture. The clay core was removed once the sculpture was completed. This is one of three monumental and highly important lacquer heads – the other two a bodhisattva head and a head of Buddha - which were handled and published by the dealers Yamanaka and Company in 1930.