Rāhula, the Eleventh Lohan
CultureChinese
Date19th-early 20th century
MediumHanging scroll; ink rubbing on paper
DimensionsOverall: 19 1/4 × 46 inches (48.9 × 116.84 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number34-269/10
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionStone carved in 1757; rubbing created 1800s–early 1900s. Figure with heavy eyebrows and a bald head, seated on a rock.Exhibition HistoryThe Art of Ink Rubbings: Impressions of Chinese Culture, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, July 20, 2024–February 2, 2025, no cat.
This rubbing of a Luohan was created from a marble pagoda commissioned by the Qianlong emperor (reigned 1735–1796) for the Shengying Temple in Hangzhou, China. The emperor believed the stone carvings were based on early paintings, so numerous rubbings were made to promote those treasured images. Luohans, Buddhist beings popular in China, were believed to be hermits with supernatural power. Artists often depicted them as exotic and compelling figures, as shown in these rubbings.
With Kuan Ku Ku, Peiping (modern-day Beijing), China, by February 12, 1934;
Purchased from Kuan Ku Ku, through Laurence Sickman, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1934.
NOTES:
[1] Sickman's purchase record, Nelson-Atkins Archives, RG80-15 William Rockhill Nelson Trust Office Files, box 1a, Art Invoices/Vouchers 1934.
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