Buddhist disciple, or luohan, holding a peach

17th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 219

Although they are referenced in Indian sources, luohans (Sanskrit: arhat), or Buddhist disciples, are not represented in the visual arts of the subcontinent. Based on the disciples of the Historical Buddha, this group of sixteen figures was first depicted in China in the tenth century. By the sixteenth century, luohans had become an important motif in secular painting and the decorative arts, where they are understood as exemplars of a cultivated, but renunciatory, lifestyle.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

清早期壽山石雕捧桃羅漢
Title: Buddhist disciple, or luohan, holding a peach
Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Date: 17th century
Culture: China
Medium: Soapstone
Dimensions: H. 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm); W. 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm); D. 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm)
Classification: Sculpture
Credit Line: Purchase, Friends of Asian Art Gifts, 2013
Object Number: 2013.167
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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