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You'd think if you owned something that looked like this, you'd remember where it came from — but I haven't the faintest idea. I *do* recall discussing it with a friend back in 2003, so I know it was already in my possession, then — but before that, nothing. It might as well have appeared one day on my doorstep.

Here's what I assume about it: It is a representation of the Buddha Shakyamuni prior to his enlightenment while he was still practicing austerities. It is probably of Chinese origin, carved from boxwood or a similar Asian hardwood. I've found similar pieces offered online dating from the late 18th through the early 20th Centuries, at least, and possibly later. Often, both the eyes and teeth of such figures are carved from shell or soft stone; in this case, only the teeth are implanted, which may suggest a more recent date. It is a little larger than the other carvings I've found, measuring 27 cm from base to crown.

It appears to have been carved entirely with hand tools; I see nothing that suggests the use of power tools. The wood is dry, with minor hairline cracks evident, but seemingly no chipping.

---with one major exception: Evidently, there was a knot in the wood forming the top right portion of the head that has come loose, leaving a large 'trepanation' scar. Seemingly, at some point a previous owner had glued it back, but by the time it reached me, the plug had disappeared. I've crafted one from encaustic wax that works reasonably well, but it's not shown in any of these photos.

What I take to be the artist's chop is on the bottom of the figure.

All-in-all, it's a well-made piece, with consistently fine craftsmanship throughout.

I doubt there's much chance of identifying the artist, as I suspect these were made in reasonably large quantities. I'm hoping someone might be able to help lock this to a specific decade or two. My entirely uneducated guess would be 1920s/30s -- but you could talk me into a margin of error of 30 years in either direction.

Images are relatively low-res JPEGs; click to display a corresponding, higher-res PNG.

Thanks for your time; any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Vann

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