Stele, Fo xiang (Zaoxiang): stele with headless Buddha presented frontally, the missing right hand must have been raised in abhaya mudra (absence of fear), and the left hand in varada mudra (giving) as is often the case in Northern Wei steles. The Buddha is dressed in a monastic mantle, beneath which the robe appears. The halo, with the hole for the head, is always present. The bottom of the stele is carved with lotus leaves, then in a second register with stylized flowers. The top is adorned with flying celestial beings seemingly descending from the sky, some playing music. The composition of this stele, and the Buddha's habit, are expressions of the most classical Northern Wei statuary. (Castor/Hara sale catalog, 11 and 12/12/10) Ref : "Return of the Buddha", p. 62 to 70 and more specifically, parallel with fig. 56, from the stele dated 534 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1919, and fig. 31 p.42 (broken, burnt). Grey schist. China, Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534). 53x17xH108cm.