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Lot Essay
Images of the Buddha lying on his side are well known in a variety of materials and sizes. Possibly the most famous is the massive stone figure at Dazu, Sichuan province. However, figures of reclining luohan are very rare. The current figure most probably represents the aged luohan Kasyapa preparing to enter nirvana. Traditionally the two Indian monks Kasyapa, Matanga and Dharmaratna were believed to have been responsible for the first Chinese translation of an Indian Buddhist text, 'The Scripture in Forty-Two Sections', which they brought to China in the Eastern Han dynasty and translated into Chinese as Sishier zhang jing. From at least the 6th century sculptural groups often depicted the Buddha accompanied by two monk disciples or luohan, one shown as youthful and the other aged and wrinkled. The youthful figure, identified as Ananda, stood on the right of the Buddha, while the aged figure, identified as Kasyapa, stood on his left. A luohan is a being who strives for enlightenment through individual effort, study, and self-control, and who provides a role model for other mortals.
The pose of the figure, lying on its right side with one arm beneath the head and the head itself resting on an elliptical tasseled cushion was adopted from Indian Gandharan representations of the parinirvana of the Buddha, dating to the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. See W. Zwalf (ed.), Buddhism - Art and Faith, British Museum publications Ltd., London, 1985, p. 38, no. 25. A Liao dynasty painted stone Buddha figure in similar pose, and only a little smaller than the current ceramic piece was found in the White Pagoda, Qingzhou in the 1970s. The platform on which this stone figure rested had the same decorative panels seen on the current ceramic example, but the stone platform was not hollow and the panels were recessed rather then pierced. See Wenwu, 2002:11, p. 93 and back cover.
For an elliptical cushion or pillow with tasseled ends appearing to be held by a Tang dynasty earthenware servant see P. Singer, An Enduring Shape, Oriental Art, Vol. XV, No. 4, 1969, pp. 295, fig. 7.
It has been said that "the individuality of the lohans offered a rich field for portraiture and dramatic realism so much favoured by the sculptors of Liao and Chin" (L. Sickman & A. Soper, The Art and Architecture of China, Penguin Books, 1971, p. 199). This style of sculptural portraiture appears to have evolved on such luohan figures in the late Tang dynasty, and been taken up with particular enthusiasm in the Liao dynasty. The treatment of the head and face of this figure bears considerable resemblance to that of a Liao dynasty sancai-glazed seated luohan from Bafowa, Yangxian, Hebei, (Zhongguo meishu quanji; diaosu bian 5; Wudai Song diaosu, Beijing, 1988, no. 147) and that of a very similar figure in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, New York, which has been dated by different authors to the late Tang dynasty or the Liao dynasty.
The current figure wears an outer robe divided into sections. Most painted depictions of Ananda and Kasyapa show them clothed in such robes, as is the case with the painted marble standing figure of Kasyapa in the Musée Guimet, dated to the Sui dynasty. See W. Watson, L'art de l'ancienne Chine, Paris, 1979, no. 76. It has been suggested by some scholars that these robes were intended to suggest patchwork and were worn as a sign of humility. However, the majority of such figures, like the current example, show the robes edged with an elaborate brocade.
The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C102w27 is consistent with the dating of this lot.
The pose of the figure, lying on its right side with one arm beneath the head and the head itself resting on an elliptical tasseled cushion was adopted from Indian Gandharan representations of the parinirvana of the Buddha, dating to the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. See W. Zwalf (ed.), Buddhism - Art and Faith, British Museum publications Ltd., London, 1985, p. 38, no. 25. A Liao dynasty painted stone Buddha figure in similar pose, and only a little smaller than the current ceramic piece was found in the White Pagoda, Qingzhou in the 1970s. The platform on which this stone figure rested had the same decorative panels seen on the current ceramic example, but the stone platform was not hollow and the panels were recessed rather then pierced. See Wenwu, 2002:11, p. 93 and back cover.
For an elliptical cushion or pillow with tasseled ends appearing to be held by a Tang dynasty earthenware servant see P. Singer, An Enduring Shape, Oriental Art, Vol. XV, No. 4, 1969, pp. 295, fig. 7.
It has been said that "the individuality of the lohans offered a rich field for portraiture and dramatic realism so much favoured by the sculptors of Liao and Chin" (L. Sickman & A. Soper, The Art and Architecture of China, Penguin Books, 1971, p. 199). This style of sculptural portraiture appears to have evolved on such luohan figures in the late Tang dynasty, and been taken up with particular enthusiasm in the Liao dynasty. The treatment of the head and face of this figure bears considerable resemblance to that of a Liao dynasty sancai-glazed seated luohan from Bafowa, Yangxian, Hebei, (Zhongguo meishu quanji; diaosu bian 5; Wudai Song diaosu, Beijing, 1988, no. 147) and that of a very similar figure in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, New York, which has been dated by different authors to the late Tang dynasty or the Liao dynasty.
The current figure wears an outer robe divided into sections. Most painted depictions of Ananda and Kasyapa show them clothed in such robes, as is the case with the painted marble standing figure of Kasyapa in the Musée Guimet, dated to the Sui dynasty. See W. Watson, L'art de l'ancienne Chine, Paris, 1979, no. 76. It has been suggested by some scholars that these robes were intended to suggest patchwork and were worn as a sign of humility. However, the majority of such figures, like the current example, show the robes edged with an elaborate brocade.
The result of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. C102w27 is consistent with the dating of this lot.