Page 163 - Christies Asia Week 2015 Chinese Works of Art

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION,
SOUTH AFRICA

2123
AN UNUSUAL WHITE STONE FIGURE OF A
SLEEPING LUOHAN
SONG-JIN DYNASTY, 11TH-13TH CENTURY

The arhat is shown seated cross-legged,
his body twisted to the right, on top of a
waisted, rock pedestal, having fallen asleep
with his head resting on the shoulder of his
left arm which is supported on the branch
of a tree trunk that rises from the back of the
pedestal. The white stone has a dark patina.
13Ω in. (34.3 cm.) high

$10,000-15,000

PROVENANCE:

John P. Reeves (1909-1978) Esq, O.B.E.,
the British Consul of Macau, and thence by
descent to the present owner.

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 (and sometimes over 100), artists
began to imbue the different luohan with
individualized or distinguishing characteristics.
While the identity of the present fgure isn’t
clear, the ‘sleeping’ or ‘meditating’ arhat was a
known type from the Song dynasty. Compare
with an example at the Museum Rietberg
and illustrated by Osvald Sirén in Chinesiche
Skulpturen, Museum Rietberg, Zurich, 1959, p.
155, no. 59.

宋/金 石雕睡羅漢像