Ca. 386–534/535 AD. Northern Wei Dynasty. A terracotta tile featuring a beautiful depiction of a seated Buddha wearing garments whose red and green pigment is marvellously still preserved as is the black of the hair and the red drapery above the Buddha and behind his head. Buddha has a raised right hand, with the palm facing outwards and the fingers downwards while the left arm is held close to the body. In Buddhism and Hinduism, this is one of the 'Mudra' ("seal", "mark" or "gesture"), symbolic gestures of the hands and fingers used either in ceremonies and dance or in sculpture and painting. The Wei dynasty was the longest-lived and most powerful of the northern Chinese dynasties that existed before the reunification of China under the Sui (581-618 AD) and Tang (618-907 AD) dynasties. The Wei rulers were great patrons of Buddhism. They fostered Buddhism as a state religion, although the dynasty took particular care to control the religious hierarchy, trying to avoid any church-state conflicts. Buddhism held a great appeal for the Wei rulers, as it gave their leadership a legitimate base in a multiethnic society. Provenance: Property of a North London gentleman; previously acquire on the UK/European art market in the 1980s. Size: L:330mm / W:165mm ; 3.4kg