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Luohan
Unknown - Enlarge image
Luohan
- Object:
Figure of Luohan
- Place of origin:
China (made)
- Date:
1400-1500 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Gilt bronze
- Museum number:
FE.104-1970
- Gallery location:
China, room 44, case 59
This gilded bronze figure represents a Luohan, which is the Chinese term for the disciples of Buddha; monks with special merits and virtues could also be given this name. These figures, usually portrayed in sets of 18, were placed in the side chambers of Buddhist temples. This example is gilt all over except for the back, suggesting that it was made to be looked at from the front; the Chinese inscription on the back: 'number seven on the east', probably indicated its original location in the temple. The inscriptions on the podium, both in Tibetan, show a clear connection with Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan religion and iconography began to influence Chinese Buddhist art since the Yuan dynasty (1279-1366) when Tibetan and Nepalese monks settled in Beijing under imperial patronage.
