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Lot Essay
The inscription may be read, 'Madame Jia, the virtuous benefactress (of Buddhism) and mother of Li Yin, commissioned two Luohan statues for her entire family to worship, the first day of the sixth month of the fourth year of the Jianlong reign (AD 963).'
Images of luohan, the enlightened semi-historical followers of the Buddha, became exceedingly popular in China from the Tang period onwards. Because they were often depicted in groups of at least 16, artists began to imbue the different luohan with individualized or distinguishing characteristics of their spiritual states. Because of the portrait-like depictions of many sculptures of luohan in different media from the Song dynasty onwards, it has been suggested that some of these depictions may have been portraits of actual monks (see Kaikodo 1998, A Garden Show, p. 150, and pp. 250-251 for illustrations of luohan figures in different media).
The current figure is unusual for its small size and its depiction in marble. Larger stone examples exist with the luohan similarly posed with a lion or other attribute. See China 5000 Years, New York, 1988, no. 177, for two larger (38 cm.), seated stone figures of arhats (luohan) now in the Shaanxi History Museum.
Images of luohan, the enlightened semi-historical followers of the Buddha, became exceedingly popular in China from the Tang period onwards. Because they were often depicted in groups of at least 16, artists began to imbue the different luohan with individualized or distinguishing characteristics of their spiritual states. Because of the portrait-like depictions of many sculptures of luohan in different media from the Song dynasty onwards, it has been suggested that some of these depictions may have been portraits of actual monks (see Kaikodo 1998, A Garden Show, p. 150, and pp. 250-251 for illustrations of luohan figures in different media).
The current figure is unusual for its small size and its depiction in marble. Larger stone examples exist with the luohan similarly posed with a lion or other attribute. See China 5000 Years, New York, 1988, no. 177, for two larger (38 cm.), seated stone figures of arhats (luohan) now in the Shaanxi History Museum.