Page 35 - Chinese Decorative Arts: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 55, no. 1 (Summer, 1997)

Lohan in a Grotto
...........................................................
H ard stones such as lapis lazuli and mala- an advanced stage enlightenment. Although
of
Qing dynasty, 8th-19th century
chite were valued for their blue and arhats are cited in Indian Buddhist texts, devo-
lazuli
Lapis
green colors that not only evoked the hues of tion to these sages is more prevalent in Central
H. 71/8 in. (18.1 cm)
jades but also the "brilliant sparkling gems" Asia, China, and Japan. The development of
R.
Gft ofHeber Bishop, 1902 referred to in traditional descriptions of the the Chinese lohan cult has often been traced to
02.18.917 realms of the Chinese immortals. Malachite is the seventh-century translation of Da Aluohan
indigenous to China and was used as early as Nandimiduoluo Suo Shuo Faihuji (A Record of
the Shang and Zhou periods inlay on ritual the Abiding of the Dharma Spoken by the
as
vessels and on other luxury goods. Lapis lazuli Great Arhat Nandimitra) by the renowned
Lohan in a Grotto was imported by the Tang from Afghanistan monk-pilgrim Xuanzang (ca. 596-664). This
........................................................... the Central Asian of Khotan. text describes sixteen lohans, each of whom
through kingdom
Qing dynasty, i8th-19th century Both minerals were ground into pigments for has his own mountain abode. It further explains
Malachite that lohans are who will
painting and carved (again as early as the enlightened beings
H. 9 in. (22.9 cm) into small remain in the mortal to and
Tang dynasty) sculptures, including sphere guard pro-
1921
Bequest of Edmund Converse, miniature mountains such as these sheltering tect Buddhism and its practitioners during the
21.175.136 Buddhist sages. period between the life of the historical Buddha
Luohan is Chinese for the Sanskrit arhat, Shakyamuni and the coming of the Buddha of
which in Buddhism is an epithet for a person in the Future, Maitreya. In China the cult of the
34