Country Group: China, Japan and Korea

Item id: 8395

A Chinese cast bronze Buddhist votive plaque with numerous standing and seated figures surrounding an open pagoda-like structure with additional figures seated at different levels. The reverse has writing in Chinese characters, not completely legible, but including a reference to it having been made during the short-lived Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE). A knowledgeable friend , before the characters were read, noted that the figures are in a style associated with the next, Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), which conforms with the attribution of its age. The plaque measures 4 11/32" by 3 15/32". It has been handled so much that all the raised features, including on the faces of the figures, have been worn away. You couldn't ask for a nicer surface, dark and warm, with verdigris in the deeper parts of the relief. It is the nicest of all the Tang bronze plaques I've come across in close to 30 years of searching. Everything, from size, to patina, to overall composition, to casting and sculpting quality, to overall beauty and decorative value are first rate. Based on input I have received this piece is likley early Tang Dynasty (7/8th century).