Chinese Carved Wood Bodhidharma (Damo) Figure on Rockwork Base

This standing figure depicts Damo (Bodhidharma), the semi-legendary monk who carried Chan (Zen) Buddhism to China, rendered here with the fierce brow, deep-set eyes, hooped earring, and full curling beard that mark the traditional iconography of the "barbarian" patriarch. Carved from a single solid piece of wood, the composition wraps the robed figure around a craggy rockwork column, his mala beads swinging at the waist and a bundled staff and gourd tucked into the drapery. The reverse is fully worked — the great woven traveling hat slung across his back is deeply incised with radiating splits and weave detail, a level of finish that shows this piece was meant to be seen in the round.

The dark, richly variegated surface — glossy near-black in the recesses, warm honeyed tone across the high points — comes from age and handling rather than applied paint or stain. The unmarked underside exposes sawn end-grain with a natural age crack radiating from the center. The grain structure visible on the base is exceptionally tight and fine, the wood dense and close-figured throughout, with the characteristic creamy-to-amber coloration that deepens with age and handling. These properties — the grain density, color range, and the degree of undercutting the carver achieved without fracture — are consistent with boxwood (Buxus sinica or related species), the hardwood long favored by Chinese carvers for figurative work of this scale and complexity.

CONDITION

Good. Surface carries age-appropriate patina throughout — deep gloss in recesses, warm highlights on raised surfaces — consistent with old handling. A chipped loss near the base has been touched up; exposed raw wood remains at the break edge. Deep undercutting and openwork elements are intact with no repairs noted elsewhere.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• 19 1/4" H × 8" W × 4 1/2" D
• Weight: 5 lb 9 oz
• Construction: Carved from one solid piece of wood
• Wood species: Consistent with boxwood (Buxus) — tight, fine grain; dense, close-figured; creamy-to-amber coloration deepened by age; end-grain sawn base confirms single-piece construction
• Unmarked
• Campbell's Soup Can (4" H) Shown for Scale — Not Included
• U.S. Dime (17.9mm) Shown for Scale — Not Included