I purchased this out of a collection in South Africa from a gentleman who purchased it more than 20 years ago from an antique shop in Johannesburg. It is a classic Shan Style Buddha head done in a modified "Post Pagan" style that was very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, and which continues to be made right up into the 20th century. These are hard to date as they are made of paper Mache, and have been made for more than 200 years in a similar style. I bought this and paid for it at a price believing that it was an eighteenth-century example. After examining it closely, I believe it is a twentieth-century example, though it is done in the traditional way, and at a quality that is more typically associated with the early examples. Near life-size at H 10.25" (26.035cm) (head only)