Seated luohan (arhat) in a grotto
A luohan, (arhat, in Sanskrit) is a Buddhist sage who has achieved enlightenment. Groups of sixteen, eighteen, and five-hundred luohans were worshipped in China, where they were a common theme in painting and the decorative arts. The beautifully engraved inscription on this sculpture identifies the luohan as Kanaka, the eighth in the set of sixteen, and explains that the Qianlong emperor had this sculpture made as part of a set of sixteen images for a shrine in the palace.
Artwork Details
- 清中期 玉雕羅漢山子
- Title: Seated luohan (arhat) in a grotto
- Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Date: 18th century
- Culture: China
- Medium: Jade (nephrite)
- Dimensions: H. 7 11/16 in. (19.5 cm); W. 6 3/4 in. (17.2 cm); D. 2 11/16 in. (6.8 cm)
- Classification: Jade
- Credit Line: Gift of Heber R. Bishop, 1902
- Object Number: 02.18.640
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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China
18th–19th century
China
dated 1774
China
18th century
China
18th century
China
17th century
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