China, 14th-15th century. Expressively carved with a broad smile and deep-cut lines, beneath a short broad nose and narrow squinting eyes, all between large pendulous ears.Provenance: French private collection. Condition: Good condition commensurate with age, extensive wear, natural weathering, losses.Weight: 6.8 kg (excl. stand)Dimensions: Height 26 cm (incl. stand) and 20 cm (excl. stand)With a modern metal stand. (2)Animated sculptures of luohans such as the present lot are extremely rare, most examples being straightforward and somewhat idealized renditions. This head most probably originates from Sichuan Province, which has a long tradition of depicting lively, caricature-like effigies of humans, as is evident in some of its pottery figures of entertainers, such as a figure of the grimacing drummer in the Sichuan Provincial Museum, see R. Bagley, Ancient Sichuan: Treasures from a Lost Civilization, Seattle, 2001, p. 298, no. 111.A more naturalistic trend in sculpture was initiated by Song dynasty sculptors, who also often depicted human figures with animated, expressive faces. This trend continued into the subsequent Yuan and Ming dynasties. Two sandstone sculptures of arhats, one with a tiger, the other with a dragon, were discovered in 1980 at the Boshan Temple site in Fu county, Shaanxi Province, see H. Rogers, China 5000 Years: Innovation and Transformation in the Arts, New York, 1998, no. 177.Auction result comparison: Compare with a closely related red sandstone head of a smiling luohan at Bonhams London in Fine Chinese Art on 7 November 2019, lot 55, sold for GBP 8,812.明代砂岩羅漢頭像 中國,十四至十五世紀。雙耳寬大,短短的鼻子,眼睛微垂,慈祥的笑容,額間和臉上有細紋,表情豐富。 來源:法國私人收藏 品相:狀況良好,與年代相符,磨損嚴重,自然風化,缺損。 重量:不含底座6.8 公斤 尺寸:縂高26 厘米,不含底座20 厘米 現代金屬底座。 拍賣結果比較:一件相近的紅砂岩羅漢頭像售于倫敦邦翰思Fine Chinese Art 拍場,2019年11月7日,lot 55, 售價GBP 8,812。