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The Sixteen Luohans

Original Language Title明 十六應真圖卷
CultureChinese
Date13th century
MediumHandscroll; ink and slight color on paper
DimensionsOverall: 12 7/8 × 334 inches (32.7 × 848.36 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number50-11
On View
Not on view
Collections
Gallery Label

This scroll depicts the journey of Luohans, Buddhist spiritual beings, on the path to enlightenment. Luohans possess supernatural powers, such as communicating with lions and tigers. Here, the Luohans cross vast distances and tumultuous waters with the help of animal companions. The beasts also aid the Luohans’ spiritual crossing or deliverance. The painter depicted the Luohans’ robes in spontaneous strokes, bold and fast like the Chan (Zen) Buddhist notions of unconstrained thought and the sudden enlightenment.


Provenance

Walter Hochstadter;

Purchased from Walter Hochstadter by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1950.

 

Published References

Wai-Kam Ho, et al., Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting: The Collections of the Nelson Gallery-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, and The Cleveland Museum of Art. (The Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, c1980), 86-89, no.68.

Roger Ward and Patricia J. Fidler, eds., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection (New York: Hudson Hills Press, in association with Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1993), 319.

Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008). 346, fig. 193.

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.


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