A CHINESE BAMBOO FIGURE OF A LUOHAN AND A BUDDHIST LION

A CHINESE BAMBOO FIGURE OF A LUOHAN AND A BUDDHIST LION
18TH CENTURY

The figure seated on a recumbent Buddhist lion, wearing monk’s robes and holding a book in his left hand, 19.7cm.

Luohan are depictions of disciples of Buddha and exemplify the attainment of spiritual realisation in Buddhist practice. In Chinese culture they traditionally feature as a group of sixteen or eighteen figures, each with a specific attribute. Luohan have featured as early as the 4th century AD, initially as individualised portraits, but becoming increasingly stylised over time. Their attributes also acquired a formulaic character. Cf. Ip Yee and Laurence CS Tam, Chinese Bamboo Carving, pp.342-343, pl.104, for a similar 18th-century lion.

十八世紀 竹雕獅吼羅漢