Though he had intended to bequeath the collection to the nation, the Depression of the 1930s forced him instead to sell it to the nation at a preferential rate. The sculpture collection includes the two earliest objects - dated stelae with reliefs of Buddhistic subjects and inscriptions from the Wei dynasty and territory. Also a headless Buddha, a votive group of the Bodhisattva Maitreya and other miscellaneous pieces in marble, stone or ivory.
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British Museum
Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG
020 7323 8181
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Opening times
Daily, 10am – 5.30pm (Fri until 8.30pm)
Closed 24 – 26 Dec and 1 Jan