Pick of the week: Bronze reflecting blossoming of Buddhism in China makes at £50,000 at TimeLine
The Northern Wei dynasty (386-534 AD), founded by the nomadic Tuoba clan, was the most long-lived and most powerful of the northern dynasties prior to the reunification of China under the Sui. Most importantly for Chinese art history, the ruling royal family were converts to Buddhism.
Buddhism had first come to China via the Silk Road under the Han but it was during the 5th century…