AN IMPORTANT DOCUMENTARY CAST-IRON SEATED LUOHAN
THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN 
AN IMPORTANT DOCUMENTARY CAST-IRON SEATED LUOHAN

DATED THE 7TH YEAR OF THE HONGZHI PERIOD CORRESPONDING TO AD1494, AND OF THE PERIOD

细节
AN IMPORTANT DOCUMENTARY CAST-IRON SEATED LUOHAN
Dated the 7th year of the Hongzhi period corresponding to AD1494, and of the period
Section-cast, seated in dhyanasana with hands in dhyanamudra, bald head with large ears and expressive features, the eyebrows arched forming a slight frown above the downcast eyes, sharply pointed nose and pursed lips, the forehead with an urna at the centre below a round aperture at the top, dressed in frugal monastic robes crossed at the neck to form a wide V-shaped collar and tied above the waist, the long and wide sleeves draped over both knees, the hems draped over the pedestal stand, the surface with a rich copper-brown patination, the reverse cast with a dated dedicatory inscription
46 in. (117 cm.) high
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拍品专文

The cast inscription at the reverse contains about fifty-eight characters naming the temple or hall for which the figure was commissioned, as well as the donor. The date reads Hongzhi qi nian ba yue ji ri zao, which translates into 'Cast on an auspicious day of the eighth month of the seventh year of the Hongzhi reign' (AD 1488-1505). This is the same day given on the slightly smaller cast-iron seated luohan in a different meditative pose, bhumisparsamudra, in the Hotung Gallery at the British Museum (inventory no. OA 1990 4-13.1).

Evidence of the making of ironware in China is recorded as far back as the Shang Dynasty and techniques for making cast-iron tools, agricultural equipment, religious objects and weaponry became more and more sophisticated throughout the ages. By the Song Dynasty, when an "inner moulding" technique was developed, involving the insertion of clay or plaster into the mould, it became possible to make large cast-iron figures, which by the Ming Dynasty were made with great attention to detail, as evident in the present lot.